Introduction 

We are in an era where personal computers are becoming smaller with each passing generation; except for those whom like to cool or use their systems in ever more esoteric ways. As a result Intel has dropped the gauntlet with the Atom processor and with the formation of MITX as the de-facto standard for all small form factor systems, then we are in for some interesting times! The idea behind these systems is for low power consumption making them a green alternative to the larger computers but with the obvious sacrifice of speed and in some cases durability. 

The obvious applications for the above hardware are to use in a NAS (Network Attached Storage) box or a HTPC (Home Theatre PC) We all know that HTPC cases get very hot, due to the amount of power that is used in such a small confined space and with little airflow. However with each generation of the Intel Atom processor, then the power requirements are lowered ergo the heat.  

One company that has been amongst the forefront of the computer world is Asus. Previously known for their range of motherboards, graphics cards and more recently their netbook range; then it would be fair to assume that the aforementioned business has made an impact in the I.T industry and with their knowledge of producing quality ‘netbooks’ it is with hopes that this can be translated into the ‘desktop’ environment with the use of the Intel Atom processor.  

Intel’s newest chipset offerings, the H55 and H57, promise to bring good performance at a reasonable price.  The chipsets are very similar with only a few major differences.  The most glaring difference is the lack of RAID support on the H55, while the H57 does offer it.  The other major difference is the amount of supported USB ports, the H55 supports 12, while the H57 supports 14.   Combine either of these chipsets with one of the Intel processors offering  built in graphics, and you’re well on your way to a price-conscious build.  This review will be on EVGA’s H55 offering, the 123-CD-E635-KR .

How will EVGA implement the H55 chipset while keeping with it’s reputation of building high performance and highly overclockable motherboards?  Read on as we explore this latest offering from EVGA!

Let’s begin by exploring the H55 chipset and what it has to offer.  Here is the block diagram of how the chipset integrates with the processor and other system features.

As you can see, there are many features packed in to this chipset design.  One of the more unique features is the ability to run graphics that are built into select Intel i5 and i3 processors.  If you’re wondering exactly which processors offer built in graphics, here is the current list at the time of this review.

Now that we have a feel for the H55 chipset and what it’s feature set is, lets move on to a more in depth look at this EVGA board.

We’ve seen a lot of news about Intel’s 32nm CPU on the internet in the past six months…Now let us take a look at Intel’s LGA 1156 platform. This platform will launch new 32nm CPU products, including Core i5 6XX and Core i3 5XX series, named Clarkdale.

Continue reading the article here!

EVGA needs no introduction.  They have now been around for more than a decade.  Since the release of the X58 chipset, they have separated themselves as a top-notch enthusiast motherboard manufacturer.  As of this writing, their X58 Classified holds two out of the top five world frequency records for i7’s in the CPU-z Hall of Fame. EVGA hopes to continue their dominance with their new lineup of boards based on the Intel P55 chipset.

Today, we are presented with the EVGA P55 FTW motherboard. This is one of quite a few motherboards EVGA has released for the P55 chipset, and is in the top three in terms of features.

Now we’ll have a look at the EVGA-specific features, as stated by EVGA’s specs.

• 12+2 Phase PWM with switching frequency up to 1,189KHz – Superior power delivery.  (This also goes along with their two 8-pin CPU power sockets.)
• EVGA E-LEET Tuning Utility – Enthusiast software for adjusting overclocking in O.S.
• Passive chipset heatsink – No fans, lower noise, longer lifespan.
• EVGA ECP V2 Support – Overclock and debug your PC on an external adapter!
• EVGA Double Play Heatsink – CPU mounting supports both socket 775 and socket 1156 heatsinks.
• EVGA EZ Voltage read points – Easily read voltage levels with dedicated read points.
• Triple BIOS Support – Always have a backup, compare BIOS versions or use 3 separate profiles!
• PCIe Disable Jumpers – Quickly and easily troubleshoot!
• EVGA Vdroop Control – Improves overclocking stability.
• Onboard Clear CMOS, Power and Reset Buttons – System essentials at the touch of a button.
• 100% Solid State Capacitors – Higher quality, longer lifespan.
• EVGA EVbot Support – Next generation handheld overclocking device from EVGA.
• EVGA dummy OC – Overclocking at the touch of a button.
• Onboard CPU Temperature Monitor – Monitor your CPU temps quickly and easily.
• Dual Clock Generators (CPU and PCIe) – Ensure best signals for CPU overclocking

Whew, that is quite a list!  Based on all of that, this board already looks like a winner.  We’ll see how it holds up in our testing, but they have definitely set up some high expectations.

Before diving into the motherboard however, we know this may be some of your first experience with the combination of Intel’s P55 chipset and i5/i7 LGA1156 processors.  Let’s take a minute to explore what that means for you.

The release of Intel’s P55 chipset and socket LGA1156 processors are bringing them back into the mainstream.  The combination of X58 and i7 is a total powerhouse, unparalleled in sheer processing power.  Unfortunately, it is a bit pricey (to put it mildly).  Enter P55. Ranging from the ‘much less expensive than X58′ end of the spectrum ($100 boards + $200 CPU) to the ‘as expensive as low-to-mid range X58′ ($250+ boards + $500 CPU) end, you can go as high or low as you want with P55.  Built for the “average” user, this is what may just take LGA775 to its end-of-life point.  There certainly won’t be any more LGA775 CPUs, that’s for sure!

So, what does P55 change?  For starters, there is no more southbridge with a P55 motherboard.  The P55 chipset is called a “Platform Controller Hub”, or PCH.  It does everything a southbridge used to do and then some.  Graphics PCI-e lanes and the memory controller have all moved to the i5/i7 LGA1156 CPUs.  The rest is handled by the P55 chip.  Here is Intel’s diagram for the combo (click to make it a little larger if you have trouble reading it).

So what are the main differences between X58 and P55?

• For starters, there are fewer PCIe lanes available for graphics cards.  With the X58 chip controlling graphics, motherboards had 36 PCIe lanes available to use, enabling two full-bandwidth 16x PCIe slots (three or more if you add nVidia’s NF200 chip).  That is no longer the case with P55.  The on-chip PCIe controller has 16 PCIe lanes available.  For Crossfire and if your board supports SLI (IMPORTANT – Not all P55 boards support SLI, check your specs carefully!), you will have two PCIe slots available to use, but they will be operating at 8x each.  Adding the NF200 chip to this combination will enable additional PCIe slots, but each at 8x.
• The P55 chip itself has some PCIe lanes available on it, connected through the DMI (Direct Media Interface). Some manufacturers (EVGA in particular) are using those lanes creatively.  EVGA has decided to use them to allow the use of dedicated PhysX GPU running at 4x.
• On the P55′s platform, the on-CPU memory controller operates in dual channel, as opposed to the X58 platform’s triple channel.

That’s all well and good.  Yay for X58.  However, while these changes look big on paper, how much do they really affect performance?  Not as much as one might think.

Let’s start with the reduced number of PCIe lanes.  There are several comparisons out there now comparing dual and triple GPU combinations clock-for-clock.  One of my favorite happens to come from the eVGA forums.  It’s a quick-hit Tri-SLI comparison between an X58/i7 920 and a P55/i7 860.  Both of the CPUs were overclocked to 4GHz and both had triple GTX285′s.  The tests show very minimal difference between the two setups.  So, as far as graphics are concerned, unless you are a hardcore benchmarking enthusiast, you will probably never be able to tell the difference.

Moving on, let’s have a look at dual-channel vs. triple-channel.  Drop over to InsideHW and have a look at this comparison if you have a moment.  It compares dual and triple channel on the same X58 motherboard (they run both) and setup.  To save yourself some time: the difference is negligible.  You’ll never notice in every day use.  Again, hardcore benchmarking may show a slight deviation, but even that is very small.

There are others, but those are the main differences between the platforms.  Long story short – there is a performance hit, but every day users will likely never notice it and even hardcore benchers will still find it a thrilling platform.

Enough about the new technology though…let’s move on to the matter at hand!

The board comes very well packaged.  All accessories except the I/O plate, manual & driver CD come in antistatic packaging.  The board itself also comes shrouded in antistatic protection with padding underneath.  Included are four SATA cables, two 4-pin MOLEX to SATA power adapters, an SLI bridge, the EVGA control panel and its connectors, a driver cd and the manual.

Let’s have a look around the board.  The colors are a muted but elegant black and gray.  The last photo is after the stickers were removed and the water-block retention bolts and CPU have been installed.

The power section of the board is very stout.  Its 12+2 phase CPU power design is plenty to push your i5 or i7 CPU as far as it will go.  The heatsinks are installed with screws instead of spring-loaded push pins, which is great.  Even with the screws though, contact was not perfect.  Compared to others we’ve seen, it was not bad.  The smaller heatsink on the top was perfect.  The longer heatsink on the side had better contact toward the edges and wasn’t quite as good in the middle.  On the plus side, there was contact with every one of the MOSFETs.  They chose to stick with the usual thermal pad solution like pretty much everyone.  As usual, it was promptly replaced with quality thermal interface material; Arctic Cooling MX-2 in this case.

The P55 heatsink is thin to allow video card clearance but large enough that it seems like it could dissipate a fair amount of heat.  It too is mounted with screws, though these are spring-loaded to give the proper pressure on the P55 chip.  Underneath, they did choose to go with thermal paste instead of a less effective thermal pad.  Unfortunately, like most manufacturers that use it, they have globed a massive amount of TIM on there.  From its shape, it is obvious that this is a manufacturing time saver.  They appear to put a square “sticker”, for lack of a better word, of TIM and let the heatsink pressure push what isn’t needed out to the side.  While understandable in light of the time saved, it would be nice to see a bit more care taken in TIM application on important chips; not just by EVGA, but by the vast majority of manufacturers.  It too got a nice cleaning and some MX-2 applied in its place.

The rear I/O panel is loaded with a lot of connectivity.  There are no less than six USB ports, a PS/2 keyboard port, one each of firewire, eSATA and USB+eSATA ports, dual LAN ports, two SPDIF connectors (one optical, one coax), and the standard HD audio 6-plug interface.

Moving on around the board, we see that it was designed with overclocking in mind.  There are some nice features offered for a broad range of overclockers, from the extremely hardcore to the average joe. There are onboard power, reset & clear CMOS buttons.  To their left, you will notice a BIOS selector switch.  There are three BIOS chips on this board.  Bad flash? Choose another BIOS, then hot-flash the bad one.  Need more OC profiles?  Use another BIOS.  Care to test more than one BIOS to see which works best for you?  Go for it!  This is an excellent solution to aid people who play with their BIOS a lot and enjoy testing the latest to see if it clocks any better or has additions they need.

There is one bad point in this photograph we need to touch on.  Toward the upper left above the bank of four capacitors, you will see the header to connect front-panel audio.  The location of this makes it a wire management nightmare.  A lot of front panel audio cables can barely reach the header they need to go to (which is often on the very bottom of a board) and remain hidden to begin with.  With this placement, a bad situation just got worse.  So one ding in the FTW’s armor; wire management freaks (this reviewer is among them), say goodbye to front panel audio.

On the lower right section of the board resides a POST display that shows the POST diagnostic codes should something go awry as well as the CPU temperature once the system is fully booted up.  Below the POST display we have the headers for additional firewire and USB ports as well as power/reset/LED case connectors.

To the right of the POST display are the connectors for the EVGA Control Panel (ECP).  This is a handy little gadget that serves basically as an extension cord for a POST display, another set of power/reset/clear CMOS buttons and PCIe disable jumpers.

The PCIe disabled jumpers are a nice touch as well.  Should you have a GPU go bad, these allow you to disable one of the cards without the need to physically remove it; a definite plus for anyone water cooling their GPU(s)).

The ECP also has three buttons to increase voltages; two that increase Vcore 0.1V (when both are pressed, it increases Vcore by 0.2V) and one that increases VTT by 0.1v.  On-the-fly hardware voltage increases…nice touch EVGA!

Last, but not least in our tour of the outer rim are the voltage read points.  This is extremely handy for hardcore overclockers.  Most OC’ers know that software has the potential of mis-reading voltages.  Enter pre-installed, easy to use voltage read points.  No more hunting down the tiny places on your board to read the actual voltages.  More importantly, no more dead boards from touching your multimeter lead to the wrong item.  You can quickly and easily read actual values for Vcore, Vdimm, PCH, CPU_PLL and VTT.  These are located just above the DIMMs on the upper right hand of the board.

The BIOS of this board is well laid out and easy to understand.   That’s not to say there aren’t a lot of options to keep overclockers busy; just that it’s user friendly.  Since most of the non-overclocking options (boot order, time settings, chipset features, etc.) are very similar on most boards, we’ll skip straight to the heart of the matter.  On the right of the home screen you’ll find the “Frequency/Voltage Control” menu.  It contains all overclocking options.  It also has the RAM & CPU configuration options.

Remember that CPU power section we spoke about earlier?  It allows you to take your CPU to an astounding 2.3V!

As a matter of fact, there are broad voltage ranges for all of the settings.  The granularity is excellent as well (especially for Vcore) so you can set the voltage you really need without overkill.  Here are the voltages available.

One setting stood out very strongly in testing: EVGA Vdroop Control.  It’s not just without Vdroop, it’s the polar opposite of “with Vdroop”.  When testing 4.0GHz and 1.32500Vcore set in BIOS, the CPU idled at 1.341v and loaded at 1.352v.   By contrast, at the same Vcore set in BIOS and “With Vdroop” enabled, the CPU idled at 1.304v.  It was an experiment that resulted in being unable to see the loaded Vcore, as prime crashed the PC immediately, but you can clearly see a large difference between the two settings.  From seeing several of these boards floating about on various forums, the Vdroop is negligible to begin with.

Speaking of BIOS, there was one very interesting bug discovered when trying the newer BIOS (A29).  When running stability tests with Prime95, the blend test caused the hard disk to go berserk.  Absolutely bonkers.  It just worked and worked.  We’ve no idea what they did, but Priming the CPU results in the HDD reading (we assume, and hope just reading) an incredible amount.  That may be one to stay away from.  There are other reports of different issues on EVGA’s forums as well.  Let’s say it makes one glad there are three BIOSes to use.

Overclocking this board is relatively painless to a point.  3.6GHz was where we started; it was a very simple overclock and was perfectly stable through an hour of Prime95 blend test.  An hour doesn’t deem an overclock 100% stable, but it’s a good starting point.  These were the settings for 3.6GHz:

Frequency/Voltage Control

• CPU Multiplier Setting: 20
• CPU Frequency Setting: 180
• PCIe Frequency Setting: Auto
• QPI Frequency Setting: Auto
• MCH Strap: Auto
• Extreme Cooling: Auto
• EVGA Vdroop Control: Without Vdroop
• Bootup CPU Vcore: 1.25000v
• Eventual CPU Vcore: 1.25000v
• DIMM Voltage: 1.65v
• Bootup CPU VTT: Auto
• Eventual CPU VTT: Auto
• PCH: Auto
• CPU PLL: Auto
• DIMM 1/2 DQ Vref: +0mV
• DIMM 3/4 DQ Vref: +0mV
• DIMM 1/2 CA Vref: +0mV
• DIMM 3/4 CA Vref: +0mV
• CPU PWM Frequency: 477KHz
• VTT PWM Frequency: 240KHz
• DDR PWM Frequency: 240KHz
• CPU Signal 1: Auto
• CPU Signal 3: Auto
• CPU Signal 4: Auto

CPU Configuration

• Hardware Prefetcher: Enabled
• Adjacent Cache Line Prefetch: Enabled
• MPS and ACPI MADT ordering: Modern Ordering
• Max CPUID Value Limit: Disabled
• Intel (R) Virtualization Tech: Enabled
• Execute-Disable Bit Capability: Enabled
• Intel (R) HT Technology: Enabled
• Active Processor Cores: All
• A20M: Disabled
• C1E Support: Disabled
• Intel (R) SpeedStep(tm) Tech: Disabled
• Intel (R) TurboMode Tech: Disabled
• Intel (R) C-STATE Tech: Disabled
• C3 State: Disabled
• C6 State: Disabled
• C State package limit setting: Auto
• C1 Auto Demotion: Disabled
• C3 Auto Demotion: Disabled

Memory Configure

• DRAM SPD: Standard
• DRAM Frequency: Auto
• DRAM tCL: 9
• DRAM tRCD: 9
• DRAM tRP: 9
• DRAM tRAS: 24
• DRAM tRFC: Auto
• DRAM tRRD: Auto
• DRAM tFAW: Auto
• DRAM tRTP: Auto
• DRAM tWR: Auto
• DRAM tWTR: Auto
• Command Rate: Auto
• CHA Round Trip Latency: Auto
• CHB Round Trip Latency: Auto
• Memory Low Gap: Auto
• Memory Remap Feature: Enabled
• Memory Hole: Disabled
• DRAM Margin Ranks: Disabled

4.0GHz, however, was much, much more difficult.  Six hours of attempting to stabilize a 4.0GHz overclock was fruitless.  We can tell you that just throwing voltages at these chips does not work.  We went as far as 1.40Vcore (loaded), 1.45v CPU VTT and 1.9v CPU PLL.  It would simply not stabilize.  For what it’s worth, we did attempt the default multi of 21 with a lower BCLK to no avail.  Time being an issue, we have chosen to leave stability alone for now.

However, we also never say die.  Follow in the forums for updates on overclocking this board & CPU combo.  Seeing various reports on 860′s, some are good clockers and some are absolute bears.  It could be that we received one of the latter.  Only time will tell and there isn’t enough time right now to warrant delaying the review any longer.

Thankfully, we were able to bench both 4.0GHz and 4.2GHz.  The only exception was the Everest FPU Julia test at 4.2GHz, which was unable to complete due to (you guessed it) instability.

Bear in mind that there are a plethora of overclocking tweaks besides voltages on this board.  If past experience has taught us anything, it’s that you can throw voltages at a chip all you want, but if something else is awry, nothing will work to increase your overclock.  We’ve just scratched the surface on the overclocking options available.  Again, stay tuned in the forums; hopefully we’ll all be pleasantly surprised!

So, let’s have a look at the numbers, shall we?

While this chip has a default multiplier of 21, we chose to run ours at 20 for the overclocked tests.  There is a method to our madness.  The i7 920 overclocked in previous reviews was clocked with a multiplier of 20.  As such, not only can you see how this board and CPU perform, but you can directly compare the two platforms to see if X58 really is worth the increased premium to you!

We will also compare results of the two systems at stock settings.  Bear in mind when seeing these that the i7 860 has a higher default clock speed (2.8GHz) and a stronger Turbo setting than the i7 920.  So the results may be skewed in its favor.  As more of a direct comparison, look at the overclocked benches. We’ll get to that later though.  Before we do, let’s see how this combination performs by itself.

The system running these tests consists of the following:

• EVGA P55 FTW
• i7 860
• 2x2G G.Skill Trident (rated at DDR3-2000, 9-9-9-24)
• EVGA 8800GTX
• Corsair TX650

The cooling is a custom water loop, consisting of (and flowing in this order:

• Swiftech MCP355 Pump with an XSPC Reservoir Top
• Swiftech MCR-320 Radiator
• D-Tek Fuzion v.2 CPU Water Block (Many, many kudos to EVGA for being the only manufacturer to include socket 775 holes!)
• Swiftech MCW-60 GPU Water Block
• Back to the Reservoir

For your viewing pleasure, we took a couple photos of the test system.

First up, the overclocker’s favorite: SuperPi Mod 1.5 1M run.  Sub-10s with only 4.2GHz; excellent!

Super Pi 1M

Overclock	Score	Screenshot
Stock	14.265s
3.6GHz	11.641s
4.0GHz	10.484s
4.2GHz	9.969s

Next up we have the battery of Everest tests.  These bench your computer and then compare it to their database of results.  It is important to note that (from appearances), the comparison results are all run at stock clocks.

The first four tests in the Everest suite are memory tests.  These results were very strong for the “lesser” dual-channel controller. Starting in 2nd more often than not, every test ended up in first with only the lower overclock, remaining at the top for the remainder.

Memory Read

Results are in MB/second, higher is better.

Overclock	Score	Screenshot
Stock	12021
3.6GHz	15680
4.0GHz	17379
4.2GHz	17617

Memory Write

Results are in MB/second, higher is better.

Overclock	Score	Screenshot
Stock	11663
3.6GHz	14213
4.0GHz	15791
4.2GHz	16576

Memory Copy

Results are in MB/second, higher is better.

Overclock	Score	Screenshot
Stock	13918
3.6GHz	19720
4.0GHz	20090
4.2GHz	22048

Memory Latency

Results are in nanoseconds (ns), lower is better.

Overclock	Score	Screenshot
Stock	59.4
3.6GHz	45.9
4.0GHz	41.7
4.2GHz	39.9

CPU Queen

Results are scored, higher is better.

Overclock	Score	Screenshot
Stock	24359
3.6GHz	29958
4.0GHz	33279
4.2GHz	34957

CPU Photoworxx

Results are scored, higher is better.

Overclock	Score	Screenshot
Stock	29028
3.6GHz	36938
4.0GHz	41172
4.2GHz	43495

CPU Zlib

Results are in KB/s, higher is better.

Overclock	Score	Screenshot
Stock	92702
3.6GHz	114051
4.0GHz	126752
4.2GHz	133665

CPU AES

Results are scored, higher is better.

Overclock	Score	Screenshot
Stock	23157
3.6GHz	28518
4.0GHz	31661
4.2GHz	33271

Finally we have the Everest FPU tests.  These are more stressful than the previous tests.  As such, since we were having stability problems, one of the tests failed at 4.2GHz – the FPU Julia test.  All others were able to run as normal.  In these, the Julia and Mandel tests never quite got to the top of the heap, though a strong second is nothing to sneeze at.  SinJulia was a surprise here.  Starting in third place at stock, it catapulted to the top when overclocked and kept going from there.

FPU Julia

Results are scored, higher is better.

Overclock	Score	Screenshot
Stock	12185
3.6GHz	14975
4.0GHz	16652
4.2GHz	n/a	n/a

FPU Mandel

Results are scored, higher is better.

Overclock	Score	Screenshot
Stock	6603
3.6GHz	8119
4.0GHz	9022
4.2GHz	9474

FPU SinJulia

Results are scored, higher is better.

Overclock	Score	Screenshot
Stock	5454
3.6GHz	6706
4.0GHz	7450
4.2GHz	7829

When viewing these graphs, there are a couple things to keep in the back of your mind.  First, as mentioned before, all stock clocks are not created equal here.  The i7 860 starts with a higher stock clock (2.8GHz compared to 2.66GHz), and since it was true stock testing, all features like Turbo were turned on.  The overclocked tests were run with HT on and nothing else, just like the i7 920 / X58 tests.

Second, you should remember that these are just benchmarks.  SuperPi can vary by a few hundredths of a second with every run.  Everest can vary as much as a few hundred points/KB/MB with every run.  Neither review ran them repeatedly to try and get the best score; they were run once and recorded.  So take the individual scores with a small grain of salt.

However, there are eleven Everest tests all told, with four tests run in each.  Considering both systems had the potential for score anomalies, with the number of tests run it is safe to assume that there are equal numbers of high and low anomalies.  Therefore, as a whole they should be a good indication of how the two platforms compare.

One last thing before we get started; due to the time they were published, the Classified benches were run on Vista and these were run on Windows 7.  That does have the potential to have affected these benches.  We’d like to think it has a negligible effect, but it’s worthy of pointing out.

The benches will go in the same order as displayed above.  Results from the system in this review are displayed in blue and from Lvcoyote’s review in red.  To start, we have SuperPi1M.  As you can see, the 860 benefited from higher stock clocks.  After that, the 920 consistently beat its time in all three subsequent overclocks.  Score one for the higher-end platform.

Everest memory benchmarks.  These tests were far and away the biggest surprise.  The 860/P55 platform simply trounced the 920/X58.  The latter is supposed to be much stronger on memory because of the benefit from tri-channel RAM.  This most certainly did not play out in our testing.  In one out of the sixteen tests run, the 920 scores highest (memory copy, 4.0GHz) and one additional test was close (memory read, 4.2GHz).  So in 15/16 tests, the 860/P55 combo beat out the 920, often by a substantial margin.  Point: 860/P55

The CPU tests were more along the lines of expected performance.  A high-end targeted platform should out-score a mainstream targeted platform.  The 860 barely edged out the 920 in Queen; likewise the 920 barely edged out the 860 in AES.  Photoworxx and Zlib were the sole property of the 920, even at stock clocks.  Point: 920/X58

The FPU tests were really, really close.  The 920 won out in Julia, but the 860 eked out a win with the Mandel and SinJulia tests.  Point: 860/P55.

So, the question one might ask: Is the X58 platform worth the extra premium you’ll pay for it?  The answer is an annoying “it depends on what you’re going for.”  If you do not overclock and want to run a single GPU, that one is a simple, unequivocal no.  If you overclock and run a single GPU, we’d still go with a no; not necessarily because the X58 platform doesn’t perform better, because in many cases it does.  We just feel the benefit an average user will see is not worth the premium you have to pay.

The only place the X58 really, truly, in all cases stands out over and above the P55 platform is with multiple very high bandwidth graphics cards.  If you want to run SLI/Crossfire (or tri-SLI / tri-fire for that matter), you’ll want to stick with X58.  The P55 platform just can’t compete with two or three full x16 PCIe lanes.

Overclocking was a mixed bag with this board and CPU.  Unfortunately, we have no other P55 boards handy to compare right now to see if the CPU is just not a good clocker or if the board is contributing to the inability for higher stable overclocks.  We hope to revisit this in further reviews; if justified, the award may be adjusted.  Instinct tells us it is the CPU and without proof otherwise, this will not detract from our otherwise very positive opinion of the board.

Here at Gilgamesh Reviews we have a three tier rating system.  A Silver Award, an Editors’ Choice Award, and our top honor the Gold Award.  To achieve the Gold Award a product must demonstrate a performance level above and beyond the normal.  This exquisite offering from EVGA does just that.  While it is priced at the higher end of the P55 spectrum, its featureset and specifications more than justify that high price, especially when compared to other manufacturers’ options at (and above) this price point.  Therefore, we are very pleased to bestow another Gold Award upon EVGA for their efforts!

Quesitions, Comments, Concerns?  Feel free to share in our forums!

Introduction

As eVGA celebrates their tenth anniversary, the company’s penetration in to the X58 market continues with their latest release, the X58 Micro.  eVGA recently challenged themselves to create a Micro ATX form factor motherboard with all the features and performance of the X58 Classified series.  There is a humorous video describing this challenge that can be viewed HERE.  Producing a Micro ATX X58 Motherboard that is on par with the X58 Classified series is a tall order to say the least.  Can it really be done?  Will performance levels equal that of it’s big brothers?  These questions and many others will be answered during this review.

Many thanks to the guys at eVGA for providing the X58 Micro for review!

Pricing

At the time of this review the X58 Micro is priced anywhere from $199.00 to $209.00 USD.  For our UK readers, when available, the price should be around £120 to £125. The euro prcie should come in around €135 to €140.

Packaging

The art work on the box is eVGA’s standard X58 look, consisting of a black theme with iron gray lettering.  The Motherboard box arrived wrapped in cellophane which is a nice touch, as it gives the customer confidence that the product was received factory sealed.  Below are some pictures of the motherboard still wrapped in cellophane, and a couple more with the cellophane removed.  Throughout this review, clicking on the thumbnail pictures will open a new window displaying a high resoluton image.

So, lets open the box and see what treasures await!  Upon opening the box you are immediately greeted with a bright blue label telling you NOT to return the product to the store if you encounter any problems.  eVGA prefers you contact them directly for any service or support.  The contact information is provided on the label.  Again, a nice touch as the customer is immediately informed of what to do should an issue need addressed.

Here is a rundown of all items packed in the retail package:

• eVGA X58 Micro 121-BL-E756-TR Motherboard
• Driver Installation CD With eVGA E-LEET Software
• Users Manual
• Visual Guide
• 4-Pin Molex to 2X Sata Black Power Connector
• 2X Black Sata Data Cables
• 2-Way SLI Bridge
• USB/1394a Firewire Rear Port Bracket
• Rear Case I/O Shield

The following group of pictures show the box contents as they are revealed.

Specifications

Chipset	Intel X58/ICH10R
CPU Support	Supports Intel Core i7 Socket 1366
Memory Support	DDR3 1600Mhz +
Memory Type	DDR3 Triple Channel
Memory Slots	6 / 12Gb Max
FSB Speed	133Mhz QPI
IDE Ports	None
Floppy Ports	None
Storage	6X Sata 300Gbs Supports Raid 0, 1, 0+1, 5, JBOD
Integrated LAN	1X 10/100/1000 Realtek
Integrated Audio	8 Channel HD Realtek
Integrated I/O	1X PS/2 Keyboard 10X USB 2.0 Ports (8 external – 2 internal headers) Audio Connector (line-in, line-out, MIC) Firewire 1394a (1 external, 2 header)
Form Factor	mATX Form Factor
Operating System	Supports Windows XP & Vista
Additional Features
Right-Angled Sata Ports Solid State Capacitors Passive Heatsinks 6 Phase Power Design On-board Clear CMOS Button On-board Power Button With Integrated Power Light On-board Reset Button With Integrated HDD Activity Light On-board Diagnostics LED Readout 2-Way SLI Support

A Closer Look and Under the Hood

Next up we have an up close view of all the different areas of the eVGA X58 Micro.  The first thing that becomes apparent is the lack of IDE and Floppy ports, a bold move by eVGA but one whose time has definately arrived.  In the age of Sata drives, and motherboards being able to boot from USB devices, the need for IDE and Floppy devices has greatly diminished.   It appears eVGA has recognized the dwindling need for such antiquated devices and designed this board accordingly.

The tour of the motherboard starts with full board pictures from the four different sides, and the back of the board.  A more detailed look at the different areas of the motherboard will follow.

Next are some close up shots of the different areas of the Motherboard.  The first picture shows the six dimm slots as well as the standard 24-pin ATX power connector.   Note the sticker attached to the Dimm slots explaining how to configure the memory installation, nice touch there!  Just to the left of that you will find the six Intel Sata controller ports.  The system battery is also located in this area.

The next two pictures are of the bottom side of the Motherboard.  In the first picture you will see two USB headers, the two Firewire headers, the front panel case connections, and the on-board diagnostics LED.  The second picture shows the PCIe/PCI area.  Two PCIe slots for SLI or Crossfire, one PCI, and one PCIeX1 slot are located here.  At the bottom of this section you will find the on-board reset button, power button, and clear CMOS buttons.  Also located here is the SPDIF header and two fan headers.

Continuing our tour of the eVGA X58 Micro, next we have a look at the rear of the Motherboard.  The first picture below shows the 8 channel HD audio ports and the Realtek LAN port.  Also directly below the LAN port are two USB ports.  The second picture shows the remaining 6 rear USB ports, Coaxle and Optical audio outputs.  You can also see the 8-Pin CPU Power lead.  For cable management purposes we like to see these 8-Pin connecors located on the edge of a Motherboard.  Also notice the only PS/2 port, which is intended for a keyboard connection.  Perhaps the days of PS/2 keyboard and mouse components is on the way out as well.  It would appear eVGA thinks so, and they are probably right!

Our final stop on the Motherboard tour will be the top side of the Motherboard.  The first picture below gives you a good look at the CPU socket area.  There appears to be plenty of room here for most of the aftermarket CPU air coolers.  Fitting almost any water block should be an easy endeavor.  The second picture gives you a good look at the voltage probe area.  If you do not trust BIOS or software voltage readings and want to get voltage readings from the source, this is the place to do it.  This is one feature that eVGA carried over from their full size X58 offerings that is a major plus for them.  This is a fantastic feature and eVGA deserves credit for implementing it on the X58 Micro.

You probably noticed that nothing has been said about the passive cooling solutions found on this Motherboard.  Not to worry, we have up close pictures from two angles of each heatsink.  Lets start with the pictures of the Northbridge heatsink.  It is decorated with red lettering, proudly announcing “EVGA X58 SLI”.

Next up is a couple shots of the PWM heatsink.  Nothing real fancy here but there appears to be potential for the addition of a fan buy using zip ties or perhaps even screws through the gaps in the fins.

Our final stop along the heatsink tour lands us at the southbridge heatsink.  A pretty basic heatsink was applied here.  You will have to get pretty creative if you want to add a fan to this heatsink.  In its stock form, this heatsink should be adequate to cool a chip that is not known to get very hot.

Keeping with tradition here at Gilgamesh reviews, all the stock heatsinks were removed to inspect the application of thermal compound and how well the heatsinks make contact with the intended target area.  All three heatsinks on the X58 Micro are held in place with a screw down design.  This method of heatsink retention is far superior to the push pin design used on many other Motherboards, and ensures good contact between the heatsink and the chip.  Lets begin our look at the stock heatsink applications by having a look at the sounthbridge application.  As you can see by the first picture a hefty amount of compound was used, perhaps a bit too much.  However the heatsink made excellent contact with the target chip.  The second picture shows a cleaned off chip with the appropriate markings.

Next, lets have a look at the PWM cooling solution.  The PWM heatsink uses a thermal pad design, as is customary on most motheboards.  When the PWM heasink is removed the 12 PWM chips are cleanly revealed, as seen in the first picture below.  The second picture shows the thermal pad as it is applied to the heatsink.  As you can see by the picture full contact with all twelve PWM chips is not consistant.  The center PWM chips were leaving a barely noticible imprint on the thermal pad.  The outside chips however were making good contact.  Close inspection of the motherboard revealed no warping in this area.  The likely cause of poor contact with the center PWM chips is either the thermal pad was strectched and created a thinner center area, or the heatsink itself is not completely flat.  It should be mentioned though that the center chips were making contact with the thermal pad, but very lightly at best.

Finally lets have a look at the northbridge heatsink application.  As you can see by the first picture, a more than adequate amount of compound was applied.  The heatsink was found to be making excellent contact with the northbrige chip.  Two rubber pads, and four felt pads are used to cushion the heatsink.  The second image shows the cleaned chip with the X58 markings.

It should be mentioned that Arctic Silver Ceramique was applied to all surfaces after inspection of the heatsink applications.  The thermal pad on the PWM heatsink was also removed in favor of Ceramique.

The BIOS

Any computer enthusiast will tell you a motherboard’s BIOS is where the men are seperated from the boys.  eVGA claims that this X58 Micro has the features of its bigger brother the X58 Classified.  After a quick look at all the BIOS settings it becomes obvious that all but a few of the X58 Classified BIOS settings are there.  There are enough tweaking options in this BIOS to keep even the most hard core enthusiast busy for quite some time.  True to their word, eVGA has indeed loaded this BIOS with all the bells and whistles found on their higher end X58 offerings, except for the following:

IOH PLL VCore
VTT PWM Frequency
CPU PWM Frequency
CPU Impedance
QPI Signal Compesation

Lets have a look around the different areas of the BIOS.  The eVGA X58 Micro uses an award BIOS, and the board came with the latest BIOS installed at the time of this review.  The first pictures are of the Standard CMOS Features. Advanced BIOS Features, Integrated Peripherals, Power Management Setup, PnP/PCI Configurations, and last but not least the PC Health areas.  As you can see these BIOS sections are pretty common among most motherboards on the market today.

Now lets procede to the highlight of this BIOS, the Frequency/Voltage Control area.  In this area you will find everything you need to maximize the performance of the X58 Micro.  Along with the many BIOS tweaking options, there is the ability to save profiles.  Sadly, eVGA did not incorporate the ability to name these saved profiles.  Adding this feature would make it much easier to identify saved profiles when needed at a later time.  As it stands now the profiles are just saved with a number assigned to them.  Hopefully the ability to name profiles will be an added feature in future motherboard releases.

Before we dive in to the pictures of the Frequency/Voltage Control section, lets go over the available voltage settings for the different subsystems.  Below is a table giving you the voltage ranges available.  As you can see there is no shortage of options here.  The only shortfall noticed was the CPU VCORE maxing out at 1.6v.  For systems runiing air cooling or water cooling, 1.6v should be more than enough.  For the extreme overclocker using Dry Ice or Liquid Nitrogen, this 1.6v limit might be a problem when trying to obtain those insane clock speeds.  Perhaps a future BIOS update will address this.  If for no other reason, higher VCORE options should be available to compliment the Extreme Cooling option that is present in the BIOS settings.

First up is a shot of the main Frequency/Voltage Control page.  One very nice feature here is the ability to see in real time what effect raising the CPU Host Frequency will have on your CPU speed and memory speed.  When you begin to overclock this X58 Micro you will really get to like this feature.

Next are the Memory Feature settings.  This is where you set your memory timings and ratios.  There are many different memory tweaking options available here.  We set our memory timings manually to reflect what the manufacturer recommended.

The next section of the Frequency/Voltage Control area of BIOS is the voltage control area.  Obviously this is where the voltage settings for all the different subsystems are located.  As described in the chart above, there are plenty of options here to get the most from this Motherboard.  The only voltage setting we found missing when compared the the X58 Classified was an IOH PLL VCORE option.

Finally, lets have a look at the CPU Feature area.  No real surprises here, the standard frequency reduction (Speedstep and CxE), turbo mode, and HT settings are present and accounted for.

That wraps up our BIOS tour of the eVGA X58 Micro.  Other than the limited CPU VCORE options, this BIOS is extremely well laid out and feature packed.

Overclocking and Benchmarks

Before we begin the overclocking/benchmark results, lets have a look at the components used in test bed.

• eVGA X58 Micro Motherboard
• Intel i7 920 CPU
• G.Skill Trident 3X2Gb DDR3 PC3-2000 9-9-9-24 Memory Kit
• 2X Western Digital Raptor 150Gb 16Mb Cache HDD’s in Raid0
• 1X Western Digital 160gb Sata HDD
• PC Power & Cooling 610 Silencer Power Supply
• eVGA 8800GT Video Card
• Thermalright HR-01 Plus CPU Cooler w/Scythe 2000 RPM 120MM Fan
• Windows Vista HP X64 SP2

For testing purposes the following benchmark software was used:

• HDD Tach for testing IDE and Raid Functions
• SuperPI 1M at Various Clock Speeds
• The complete Everest 5.0 Suite, including Memory, CPU, and FPU tests.

All testing was done with the 2:8 memory divider.  The stock 2.66 Ghz speed (with Turbo), 3.3 Ghz Speed, and 4.0 Ghz speed were used for the benchmark runs.  First is the BIOS templates for the 3.6 Ghz overclock and the 4.0 Ghz overclock.  These are intended as a basic guide only, every system is different and these settings may or may not work for everyone.

3.6 Ghz BIOS Template

Mother Board ( EVGA X58 Micro )
Drivers ( Intel Chipset 9.1.0.1007 )
Bios ( First Release )
CPU ( i7 920 D0 stepping )
CPU Cooler ( Thermalright HR-01 Plus)
Memory ( G.Skill Trident 9-9-9-24 1T DDR3-2000)
PSU ( PCP&C 610 Silencer )
GPU ( EVGA 8800GS )
Drivers ( 190.38 )
Operating System ( Vista X64 HP SP2 )

Frequency Control
CPU Clock Ratio ( 20X )
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ( 180 )
MCH Strap ( Auto )
CPU Uncore Frequency (Mhz) ( Auto )
CPU Clock Skew ( 0 ps )
Spread Spectrum ( Disabled )
PCIE Frequency (Mhz) ( 100 )

Memory Feature
Memory Speed ( Standard )
Memory Control Setting ( Enabled )
Memory Frequency ( 1067Mhz / 2:8 )
Channel Interleave Setting ( 6 Way )
Rank Interleave Setting ( 4 Way )
Memory Low Gap ( Auto )
tCL Setting ( 9 )
tRCD Setting ( 9 )
tRP Setting ( 9 )
tRAS Setting ( 24 )
tRFC Setting ( 74 )
Command Rate ( 1t )

Voltage Control
EVGA VDroop Control ( W/VDroop )
CPU VCore ( 1.25625 )
CPU VTT Voltage ( +200mv )
CPU PLL VCore ( Auto )
DIMM Voltage ( 1.65 )
QPI PLL VCore ( Auto )
IOH VCore ( Auto )
IOH/ICH I/O Voltage ( Auto )
ICH VCore ( Auto )

CPU Feature
Intel SpeedStep ( Disabled )
Turbo Mode Function ( Disabled )
CxE Function ( Disabled )
Execute Disable Bit ( Enabled )
Virtualization Technology ( Disabled )
Intel HT Technology ( Enabled )
Active Processor Cores ( All )
QPI Control Settings ( Enabled )
QPI Link Fast Mode ( Enabled )
QPI Frequency Selection ( Auto )

4.0 Ghz BIOS Template

Mother Board ( EVGA X58 Micro )
Drivers ( Intel Chipset 9.1.0.1007 )
Bios ( First Release )
CPU ( i7 920 D0 stepping )
CPU Cooler ( Thermalright HR-01 Plus)
Memory ( G.Skill Trident 9-9-9-24 1T DDR3-2000)
PSU ( PCP&C 610 Silencer )
GPU ( EVGA 8800GS )
Drivers ( 190.38 )
Operating System ( Vista X64 HP SP2 )

Frequency Control
CPU Clock Ratio ( 20X )
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ( 200 )
MCH Strap ( Auto )
CPU Uncore Frequency (Mhz) ( Auto )
CPU Clock Skew ( 0 ps )
Spread Spectrum ( Disabled )
PCIE Frequency (Mhz) ( 100 )

Memory Feature
Memory Speed ( Standard )
Memory Control Setting ( Enabled )
Memory Frequency ( 1067Mhz / 2:8 )
Channel Interleave Setting ( 6 Way )
Rank Interleave Setting ( 4 Way )
Memory Low Gap ( Auto )
tCL Setting ( 9 )
tRCD Setting ( 9 )
tRP Setting ( 9 )
tRAS Setting ( 24 )
tRFC Setting ( 74 )
Command Rate ( 2t )

Voltage Control
EVGA VDroop Control ( W/O VDroop )
CPU VCore ( 1.28125 )
CPU VTT Voltage ( +400mv )
CPU PLL VCore ( Auto )
DIMM Voltage ( 1.65 )
QPI PLL VCore ( Auto )
IOH VCore ( Auto )
IOH/ICH I/O Voltage ( Auto )
ICH VCore ( Auto )

CPU Feature
Intel SpeedStep ( Disabled )
Turbo Mode Function ( Disabled )
CxE Function ( Disabled )
Execute Disable Bit ( Enabled )
Virtualization Technology ( Disabled )
Intel HT Technology ( Enabled )
Active Processor Cores ( All )
QPI Control Settings ( Enabled )
QPI Link Fast Mode ( Enabled )
QPI Frequency Selection ( 4.800 GT/s )

Here is a screen shot of Prime95 after a little over an hour, at a 4.0 Ghz overclock.  An hour run got us through two small and two large FFT runs.  As you can see no problems encountered and the CPU temps are nice and cool.  You may want to run Prime95 for a longer period of time, but an hour is a very good indication of system stability.

Overclocking and Benchmarks Continued

Lets continue on with the benchmark results, first are the results for HDD Tach. The test results show everything is in order here, and the Intel controller works as expected.  Tests were run on IDE and Raid functions.

HDD Tach 8 Mb IDE	HDD Tach 32 Mb IDE

HDD Tach 8 Mb Raid	HDD Tach 32 Mb Raid

Next up are the runs of SuprPI at the three different clock speeds.  Obviously as the clock speed was raised the times were better.  Here are the results.

SuperPI 1M 2.66 Ghz	SuperPI 1M 3.6 Ghz	SuperPI 1M 4.0 Ghz

Next up is the full battery of Everest 5.2 benchmarks tests.  Again, all the tests were run at the three different clock speeds.  The default comparisons used in Everest give you a good idea of the performance.  As you can see most tests ranked at or near the top.  This motherboard certainly holds it’s own against the “Big Boys”, especially when the system is overclocked.

Memory Read Test @ 2.66 Ghz	Memory Read Test @ 3.6 Ghz	Memory Read Test @ 4.0 Ghz

Memory Write Test @ 2.66 Ghz	Memory Write Test @ 3.6 Ghz	Memory Write Test @ 4.0 Ghz

Memory Copy @ 2.66 Ghz	Memory Copy @ 3.6 Ghz	Memory Copy @ 4.0 Ghz

Memory Latency @ 2.66 Ghz	Memory Latency @ 3.6 Ghz	Memory Latency @ 4.0 Ghz

CPU Queen Test @ 2.66 Ghz	CPU Queen Test @ 3.6 Ghz	CPU Queen Test @ 4.0 Ghz

CPU Photoworxx @ 2.66 Ghz	CPU Photoworxx @ 3.6 Ghz	CPU Photoworxx @ 4.0 Ghz

CPU Zlib Test @ 2.66 Ghz	CPU Zlib Test @ 3.6 Ghz	CPU Zlib Test @ 4.0 Ghz

CPU AES Test @ 2.66 Ghz	CPU AES Test @ 3.6 Ghz	CPU AES Test @ 4.0 Ghz

FPU Julia Test @ 2.66 Ghz	FPU Julia Test @ 3.6 Ghz	FPU Julia Test @ 4.0 Ghz

FPU Mandel Test @ 2.66 Ghz	FPU Mandel Test @ 3.6 Ghz	FPU Mandel @ 4.0 Ghz

FPU SinJulia Test @ 2.66 Ghz	FPU SinJulia Test @ 3.6 Ghz	FPU SinJulia Test @ 4.0 Ghz

And there you have it, a terrific showing by the eVGA X58 Micro motherboard.  These results can be compared to the full size eVGA X58 Classified by visiting that review HERE.  You will notice that this X58 Micro demonstrated almost exactly the same test results.  Some were a tad higher and some a tad lower, but suffice to say the test results were on par.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Remember the humorous video I pointed you to at the beginning of this review?  Lets discuss how eVGA did when it comes to providing the performance and features equal to that of the X58 Classified.  First off, the the X58 Micro is a mATX form factor, so in reality it is physically impossible to incorporate ALL the features of an extended ATX motherboard.  Things like Tri-SLI had to be left off as there is simply not enough room to implement them.  In addition, there were a few BIOS options missing from the Frequency/Voltage Control area of BIOS when compared to the X58 Classified, just a few though.   All and all, given the physical size of the board, they did a fantastic job implementing a full featured motherboard in a mATX form factor.  Overclocking was found to be very easy, and the BIOS is easy enough to navigate even for the novice user.

If you have been looking for a high performance mATX form factor Motherboard that rivals a full size ATX offering, then look no further.  The eVGA X58 Micro is an outstanding performer and undoubtedly at or near the top of it’s class.

Here at Gilgamesh Reviews we have a three tier rating system.  A Silver Award, an Editors Choice Award, and our top honor the Gold Award.  To achieve the Gold Award a product must demonstrate a performance level above and beyond the normal, the eVGA X58 Micro does exactly that.  eVGA has demonstrated that the size of a Motherboard is not a limiting factor when designing a performance level product.

Introduction

EVGA, long known for their Nvidia based video card products, has been making some great strides over the past couple of years in the motherboard market. EVGA currently offers several X58 chipset motherboards, with their Classified series being the flagship offering.  There are two available Classified versions, one with the NF200 chipset and one without.  The only major difference between these two offerings is the E759 Model has the NF200 chpset onboard, allowing for a 3-way X16 SLI configuration, whereas the E760 version does not have the NF200 chipset meaning a 3-way SLI will be a X16-X16-X8 configuration.

This review will be on the higher end E759 version with a water cooling twist.  A full system water cooling setup was obtained for this review.  There are plenty of other reviews out there on this motherboard using the stock cooling, so it was decided to do something a little different this time around and review the board outfitted with a water cooling setup.  These Classified motherboards hit the market with a lot of fanfare, and great expectations.  Does the motherboard live up to the hype? Are they worth the premium price?  How effective is the water cooling?  These questions and more will be explored in this review.

Pricing

Pricing for the EVGA X58 Classified (E759) was $449.00US at the time of this review, with the E760 version availabe for $419.00US.   For our UK readers the E759 weighed in at around £329 Inc VAT, and the E760 around £310 Inc VAT.  Certainly not an inexpensive motherboard and geared toward the hardcore enthusiast at that price range.

Packaging

The art work on the front of the box gives the appearance of a military theme and proudly announces the X58 Classified logo.  The back of the box continues the same theme along with a description of the motherboard features and package contents.

Upon opening the box you are greeted with a host of accessories.  The list of included items is quite long and everything you could possibly need is included.  Here is a rundown of the included accessories.

• eVGA X58 Classified Motherboard 141-BL-E759-A1 (NF200)
• eVGA Driver Installation CD With eVGA E-LEET
• Rear Case I/O Shield
• 6 SATA Data Cables
• 3 SATA Power Cables
• 1 Rounded IDE Cable
• 3 SLI Bridges – Standard 2 way, 3 way, and extended 3 way
• 2 Port USB / 1394a Firewire Bracket
• Visual Installation Guide
• User Manual
• EPC Multi Function Unit

The following is a group of pictures showing the package contents as they are revealed.

Specifications

A Closer Look and Under the Hood

Lets take a quick tour around the motherboard and see up close everything it has to offer.  The following four images give you a full board view from all four angles.  The first photo shows the rear I/O area.  This area is packed with available connections.  There are eight USB 2.0 connections, a single PS/2 connection for a keyboard, a clear CMOS button, Coax and Optical audio ouputs, 1394a Firewire connector, one e-SATA connector, two LAN ports, and finally the 8 channel analog audio connections.

The second photo shows the bottom area of the motherboard.  Here is where you will find the onboard power and reset buttons.  Additionally there is a system speaker, the two internal USB connectors, two system fan headers, the front panel connectors, and the EPC connection header.

In the third photo, a good look at the right side of the board shows where all the SATA connections are located.  Looking further you will see the IDE port, and the 24 pin main power connector.

Finally the fourth picture is a shot of the top of the board.  As you can see the CPU area is wide open for almost any cooling solution you choose to use.  Also the six DDR3 slots can be seen, along with an attached sticker explaining how to populate the slots.

Next we will explore the X58 Classified up close.  The pictures below give you a detailed view of the different areas including the CPU area, the Dimm slot area, all the different heatsink assemblies, PCI & PCI-e Slots, the I/O area.  Some highlights include the double 8 pin CPU power leads, the massive Northbridge heatsink, and the absence of a floppy drive connector.  If your PSU does not have two 8 pin CPU +12v connectors, a single lead works fine.  Apparently the optional second 8 pin connector is to provide extra power under extreme overclocking conditions.  You may also notice the absence of a floppy drive cable connection.  If you want to use a floppy drive with this motherboard you will need to purchase a USB interface floppy drive.  The Northbridge heatsink should provide good cooling just based on the size of it and the fact you can easily mount a fan to it.  There are fan mounting holes available on the Northbridge heatsink.

As is customary here at Gilgamesh Reviews, we like to remove the stock cooling and have a look under the hood so to speak.  Its worth mentioning the excellent job eVGA has done getting the thermal pad under the PWM heatsink to actually make contact with all the PWM chips.  This is the first motherboard reviewed that had the PWM heatsink making contact across all the PWM chips….. Nicely done!

Here are some pictures of the removed heatsink assembly, and the exposed chipsets.  Note the excellent application of thermal paste to the different areas.  Much too often other manufacturers apply heatsink compound sloppy and without much attention to detail.

The Build

Before the review of the motherboard begins lets go over the water cooling items used and a brief overview of the build process.  Because a triple 120mm fan radiator was used (Black Ice Extreme III 360), the obvious choice for positioning of the radiator was under the top panel.  Using a Lian-Li PC75B full tower case for the build afforded the opportunity to buy a pre drilled top panel.  The rivets were removed to relieve the stock top panel from the case, and then the new top panel was riveted in place.  Here are a couple of pictures of the newly installed top panel.

Next the Radiator was outfitted with the fans, we used three Scythe 120mm 2000 RPM units.

Here are a couple shots of the radiator installed.

The CPU block for this build was the Alphacool Yellowstone HF14.  For the mosfet cooling a Bitspower Black Freezer unit was chosen.  The full board block used was a Koolance EVX58CF unit.  For the pump and reservoir a Alphacool Laing DDC Ultra Water Tank was installed.  Below are a few pictures of the motherboard outfitted with the different blocks.

And finally a few shots of the completed system.

The BIOS

As is true with most motherboards, the available BIOS setting options are what seperate a run of the mill board from an enthusiast product.  The eVGA X58 Classified does not disappoint when it comes to available BIOS/Overclocking options.  Everything needed to tune your overclock to it’s maximum potential can be found in the Frequency/Voltage Control section of BIOS.

Lets have a look around the different BIOS screens.  The eVGA X58 Classified uses an Award BIOS and arrived with the latest BIOS available at the time of this review.  The first set of BIOS screens are common to most motherboards, so lets first have a look at these.  Here are some pictures of the main screen, standard CMOS features, advanced BIOS features, integrated peripherals, power management setup, PNP/PCI Configuration, and finally the PC Health section.

Next lets have a look at the Frequency/Voltage Control section of BIOS.  This is obviously where all your overclocking parameters can be found.  eVGA has done a great job with the layout and the available options here, well done!  A very nice feature in this section is the ability to save and load BIOS profiles.  One improvement to this profile saving option would be to add the ability to name the profiles you save.  As it stands now, you just assign a saved profile a number.  If you forget what settings you loaded in a particular profile, it will be necessary to actually load it and have a look manually at the settings.

In the memory features section you have the ability to fine tune your memory timings and frequency.  Very little if anything at all was left out of these options, lot of memory tweaking can be done here.

The voltage control section presents you with a plethora of options.  The ability to manipulate voltages for just about every sub system is there.  Here is a run down of all the voltage options and the range of voltages.

The CPU feature area is where you find such things as the Intel Speed Step options, Turbo Mode settings, Hyper-Threading options, and the QPI settings.  Below are the pictures of the Frequency/Voltage Control areas.

Testing and Benchmarks

It must be noted at this time that the first motherboard we received would not boot up for us.  We attempted a bare bones boot attempt with just the CPU & Fan, one stick of memory, and the video card, this was all tried before any of the heatsinks were removed or water cooling parts installed.  The post code display would read “FF” immediately upon turning on the power and never move from there.  It has been observed to be an issue others have experienced as well.  A call was placed to eVGA, but the determination was made that the motherboard was indeed bad.

eVGA cross shipped a replacement the very next day and the replacement motherboard booted right up.  Having a bad board the first time around gave us the opportunity to review the customer service level of eVGA.  You willl be hard pressed to find any company offering the level of customer service that eVGA provides, hands down….. second to none.  Never were we on hold more than a few minutes, their support staff was polite and seemed to genuinely care about the problem described.  They paid the shipping to send the replacement, and enclosed a return shipping label to send the bad board back.  This results in a “No Cost” replacement for the end user.

Once the second motherboard was deemed to be in good working order, everything was assembled as outlined earlier in this review.  For benchmark testing purposes the following tests were used using Windows Vista HP X64 SP2:

• HDD Tach testing IDE and Raid functions
• SuperPI 1M at 2.66 Ghz (Stock w/Turbo Mode Enabled), 3.6 Ghz, 4.0 Ghz, and 4.2 Ghz
• The complete Everest 5.0 suite of Memory, CPU, and FPU tests at 2.66 Ghz (Stock), 3.6 Ghz, 4.0 Ghz, and 4.2 Ghz

The first set of tests were performed using HDD Tach 3.0 in order to check the performance of the Intel SATA controllers.  The IDE function was tested first, using both the 8mb and 32mb tests.  Here are the screenshots of those results.

HDD Tach 8Mb IDE	HDD Tach 32Mb IDE

A raid0 array was setup with two Western Digital Raptors, these were the 150Gb 16Mb Cache versions.  Here are the screen shots for the 8Mb and 32Mb runs.

HDD Tach 8Mb Raid	HDD Tach 32Mb Raid

The results of these tests show the Intel controller in IDE mode and Raid Mode perform as expected.  The results are typical for the ICH10R series controllers.

The next benchmark was SuperPI 1M, run at stock speed of 2.66 Ghz, 3.6 Ghz, 4.0 Ghz, and finally 4.2 Ghz.  As expected the times were better as the overclock setting was higher.  The 10 second barrier was broken when run at the 4.2 Ghz overclock.  Here are the screen shots of all the results at the various CPU speeds.

SuperPI 1M @ 2.66 Ghz	Super PI 1M @ 3.6 Ghz
SuperPI 1M @ 4.0 Ghz	SuperPI 1M @ 4.2 Ghz

Next the full battery of Everest 5.0 benchmarks were run at the four different CPU speeds mentioned above.  The memory frequency was set at 2:8 for all the different CPU speeds.

The first set of Everest benchmarks test the memory performance.  The default comparisons systems loaded in to Everest are a good indication of how the system performs compared to other platforms.  As you can see by these results, at or near the top of the chart was the norm here, especially as the overclock was increased.

Memory Read Test @ 2.66 Ghz	Memory Read test @ 3.6 Ghz
Memory Read Test @ 4.0 Ghz	Memory Read Test @ 4.2 Ghz

Memory Write Test @ 2.66 Ghz	Memory Write Test @ 3.6 Ghz
Memory Write Test @ 4.0 Ghz	Memory Write Test @ 4.2 Ghz

Memory Copy Test @ 2.66 Ghz	Memory Copy Test @ 3.6 Ghz
Memory Copy Test @ 4.0 Ghz	Memory Copy Test @ 4.2 Ghz

Memory Latency Test @ 2.66 Ghz	Memory Latency Test @ 3.6 Ghz
Memory Latency Test @ 4.0 Ghz	Memory Latency Test @ 4.2 Ghz

Next, the four CPU tests were run, no surprise that the results got better as the overclocks got higher.

CPU Queen Test @ 2.66 Ghz	CPU Queen Test @ 3.6 Ghz
Cpu Queen Test @ 4.0 Ghz	CPU Queen Test @ 4.2 Ghz

CPU Photoworxx Test @ 2.66 Ghz	CPU Photoworxx Test @ 3.6 Ghz
CPU Photoworxx Test @ 4.0 GHz	CPU Photoworxx Test @ 4.2 Ghz

CPU Zlib Test @ 2.66 Ghz	CPU Zlib Test @ 3.6 Ghz
CPU Zlib Test @ 4.0 Ghz	CPU Zlib Test @ 4.2 Ghz

CPU AES Test @ 2.66 Ghz	CPU AES Test @ 3.6 Ghz
CPU AES Test @ 4.0 Ghz	CPU AES Test @ 4.2 Ghz

Next up the FPU battery of tests were run, near the top in every category.

FPU Julia Test @ 2.66 Ghz	FPU Julia Test @ 3.6 Ghz
FPU Julia Test @ 4.0 Ghz	FPU Julia Test @ 4.2 Ghz

FPU Mandel Test @ 2.66 Ghz	FPU Mandel Test @ 3.6 Ghz
FPU Mandel Test @ 4.0 Ghz	FPU Mandel Test @ 4.2 Ghz

FPU Sinjulia Test @ 2.66 Ghz	FPU Sinjulia Test @ 3.6 Ghz
FPU Sinjulia Test @ 4.0 Ghz	FPU Sinjulia Test @ 4.2 Ghz

Introduction

May you live in interesting times: An old Chinese proverb that fits in with the computer industry these days. With the advent of the Intel ‘Core I7’ and its promising architecture, motherboard manufacturers have been eager to exploit this new technology to the fullest. Seven months ago Intel released the specifications of the X58 system boards in order to enable the public to utilise the new processor, then yes one could say that we do live in ‘interesting times’.

Over the last seven months manufacturers have been lining up for the public’s attention on their particular ‘spin’ of the X58 architecture. If one recalls correctly the first of the starting line was the MSI Eclipse followed by Asus and Gigabyte. Last but possibly not least was the product by DFI (Diamond Flower International). As usual, the aforementioned company has chosen to have two ‘flavours’ of board. The ‘UT’ and the ‘DK’. The former being the top of the range, whilst the latter being aimed towards the Gamer and the Overclocking enthusiast. This review shall focus it’s attention towards the ‘DK’ model.

Specifications

Box Packaging

The X58 DK box differs somewhat from the previous generation’s packaging. For example the P45 DK series sported a very professional look, however as far as ‘eye candy’ is concerned it is a little plain. The X58 DK box could not be more of a stark contrast than the previous packaging, whilst retaining its professional look. The logo in the centre of the box depicting flowing red waves is a wonderful idea and goes a great deal towards making the box much more interesting to the eye.

Click to Enlarge

The Old Style Box

Opening the box revealed the usual standard ‘DK’ (Meaning Dark) packaging with the cables, manuals and driver disks at the top whilst the mainboard itself rested underneath the white cardboard section, upon which the cables rested. The usual DFI fare was here with no additional extras. However the manual itself was detailed in explaining the various functions of the board, which included the BIOS setup ABS (Auto Boost System) and the various hardware functions. As previously mentioned, their accessory compartment lacks even a token of any extras such as DFI Mouse pad or shirt etc.

The cables themselves were of the same high standard as the previous generations, but unlike the last DK series they were bright UV green (like the more expensive UT Version) which leads one to think that the motherboard itself will be green, again just like the UT version.

Click to Enlarge

In short, DFI has chosen to include the ‘bare essentials’ with their packaging. One can see the logic in this as DFI was once quoted as saying ’We prefer higher quality components than include a lot of accessories most of which people do not use.’ However the other side of the coin is that if ‘Joe-public’ is spending £200+ for this board then one should expect?even a TOKEN of a freebie!

Board Design and Layout

The first impression gleaned from the DFI LP DK X58 T3eh6 was that it is a green/yellow colour, rather than the usual Red/Orange colour for this model. A quick word with DFI HQ confirmed that from this series of boards and onwards the colour scheme shall go by CHIPSET rather than by model type as before. So this means P55 Chipset will be rather like the DK chipset of old. The green colour of the board is pleasant and striking at the same time but the orange colour of old still holds a certain amount of appeal.

THE DFI LP DK X58 T3eH6

The Old Style DK Series

The next thing that was noticeable was that the X58 design allows the RAM sockets to be placed a good distance away from the first PCI socket (unlike the previous generation) This then allows for third-party cooling solution to be placed above the ram sockets. One major criticism that can be found with this design is that if a user should choose to opt for an SLI configuration then the resulting second card would obscure the last PCI slot. This means those whom wish to utilise an add-on sound card would have to place the device in the PCI slot BETWEEN the two graphics cards. The resulting heat of these two could indeed cause the device to malfunction. DFI has attempted to solve this issue by installing a fan header at this spot.

What follows are various shots of the DFI LP DK X58 T3eH6 at various angles

The SLI-Sound Card-Position Issue

The Triple Channel DDR3 Sockets

Whilst being quite inventive, the thermal design still has not changed significantly from the X48 T2RSB+! However, whilst having a few flaws, the design is still rather inventive. The Northbridge (or MCH as it is also known) has a removable top section so that anyone whom wishes can install a water block or a third-part air cooling device without having to purchase a PWM block at the same time. However the same idea in theory should be extended to the PWM block itself! One thing that does leap out at you is the ability to hold down reset and power off buttons at the same time in order to clear CMOS. This function in previous generations was exclusively the province of the ‘UT’ range! It is nice to know that DFI have implemented this feature that should be standard on ALL of the DFI range that promotes ‘overclocking’. An extension to this would that once the ‘power on and reset’ buttons are connected on the chassis then these would also serve the same function.

The Northbridge at various angles

Whilst installing a Northbridge water cooling block as shown, the heatsink barbs come off, leaving a flat metal plate underneath. This had far too much compound on, indeed it looked as though they had to tried to ice the plate like it was a cake. Cleaning this off and the resulting mess off the motherboard took almost an hour. Whilst too little causes heat issues, then so does too much as then the compound acts like an insulator rather than a conductor.

As usual the Southbridge has a standard heatsink which poses no issue as the Intel ICH on this generation of boards doesn’t get hot enough to justify anything else. However the other side of the coin is that should a SLI configuration be used then the Southbridge may heat up due to the lack of air flow. Once again however a fan header has been placed at this site. In this case the southbridge DOES get hot when a large high specification graphics card covers the heatsink. This is exasperated by the fact that DFI have chosen to use Plastic mounting clips. This of course would be in order to cut down costs as this is the ‘DK’ version but this leaves a foul taste in this reviewers mouth! As that combined with the cheap thermal paste used on the southbridge has caused it to heat up a little more.  This is more the pity as DFI have used the all around best but expensive Shin-Etsu compound on the Northbridge.

Moving on to the eight SATA ports, there are six for the INTEL ICH10 and two for the Jmicron controllers. It is of the opinion of this reviewer that a better option would have been to use Promise or even a Marvel controller as they are much more effective than the JMicron solution. Raid was also untested due to RAID 0 offering little or no ‘realworld’ performance difference.

The CPU area needs a special mention as this is one of the most important areas in board design. Whilst there are a few capacitors placed around the CPU, they are in short order. A high-end water block or perhaps more importantly a large CPU cooler can be placed upon the processor without any dificulty .

DFI have chosen to adopt a 6+2+2 Phase design for the PWM, Six for the CPU, two for VTT and the Last two for the memory. Testing later in this section will show if this design holds well. A feature on DFI boards that most miss out on is that the barbs on the PWM heatsinks are not glued together as with other board manufacturers, rather they have chosen to solder the fins together. This allows for a much stronger and more efficient solution.

As with all previous boards, the DFI LP DK X58 T3EH6 uses the screw down method for retention, rather than useless plastic clips (like Universal abit of old) This allows for a much more efficient contact with the chip, thus allowing for maximum heat transfer. But as above this is only applied to the PWM and MCH blocks, the Southbridge uses plastic clips.

Moving on to the USB ports, there are twelve USB ports in all. There are six physical sockets at the back with the ability to add another six via the ports on the mainboard itself.

The onboard sound is handled by the standard ‘Realtek’ solution. This will not be tested as standard doctrine proves that onboard sound cards are generally not up to scratch. However, after an impulsive thought, sound quality was tested and proven to be of a lesser quality than a Creative Audigy 2 ZS.

Last and certainly not least is another new feature the inclusion of a removable BIOS! Yes you read correctly, this feature is a god-send due to the past DK generation and its non-removable BIOS chip. This makes it easier if for some unforeseen reason the BIOS has been improperly flashed, then all that needs to be done is a new BIOS chip to be sent from DFI HQ, a quick swap and the board is back up and running again. This rather unique feature can be found just above the ICH (SouthBridge)

The BIOS Screens

Upon entry into the BIOS, the usual standard settings were available, such as advanced chipset to disable onboard devices and to set boot priority and so on. However once in the section that is entitled GENIE BIOS then things really come into the light. If you are a first time or beginner Overclocker, even setting the options to basic mode could be seen as daunting. To counter this DFI have produced a system for the beginner with the title ‘Auto Boost System’ or ABS for short, this is a one-click overclocking system for the beginner; more on this later. The BIOS layout, while being advanced, is very intuitive, with the most important and most commonly used settings at the top.

CPU Voltage Settings

There has been a lot of thought that went into the BIOS with regard to the voltage ranges of the various sections of the board, however having six phase for the CPU, two for VTT and two for Memory allows these options to be available. For example the CPU VID starts with 1.0000, 1.0125, 1.0250 and 1.0375! However it could be said that the root section of the Genie BIOS could have been organised more efficiently. The reason for this is at first glance it could be deemed as daunting for the beginner. This is with the addition that the usual F9 function, to switch to basic parameters only has been disabled.

Next there is the CMOS reloaded, this has been a feature DFI has been using for a while now. This section allows you to save your OWN profile, I.E your own settings as well as the manipulating the standard DFI ones. This feature also ties win with another rather unique aspect of the DFI motherboard, the ABS Feature!

Testing and Overclocking

Before the testing equipment is listed, gilgameshreviews would personally like to thank our sponsor www.specialtech.co.uk for sending the equipment we badly needed to complete this review. Some of the test equipment used can be purchased from there.

Test setup and Specifications

Hard Drive and SATA port tests

First to test is the onboard Intel (ICH-10 Controller) this was tested using ‘HDTACH’ a very handy little utility that monitors the hard drive at various stress levels. Should there be any ‘sharp’ dips then it can only be attributed to two issues, hard drive faulty or loss of drive performance because of the ICH controller.

8MB-ZONES	32MB-ZONES

NOTES

As shown, both 8mb and the 32mb tests pass with flying colours. They show no unexpected dips due to possible performance loss. A future test (if possible) is to fill all the SATA ports with hard drives and then run the test again to put more of a strain on the controller.

Testing Method

All testing (except that of default) was tested to be stable by an hour of ‘Prime 95’ using Windows XP (Service Pack 3) Additional software used were, Everest 5.1, HDTACH, Super-PI, CPU-Z and DFI’S ITE-Smart Guardian. CPU Temperature was not taken due to that fact that the water cooling radiator that was used is the THERMOCHILL PA 140.3 Prototype (results will be in a review shortly)

Default Settings

What is impressive is that this motherboard allows the CPU to operate (at stock speeds) with as little as 1.16 Volts. Which is rather impressive by anyones standards. This is a good sign as any that both the CPU and the motherboard are working together efficiently.

Everest CPU Scores

CPU QUEEN	CPU PHOTOWORKS

FPU JULIA	FPU MANDEL

Since the Core i7 920 operates well under low voltages, an ambitious plan was to see exactly how low the voltages can go and the processor stil be able to operate.

Super-Pi Scores

Lowering the voltage again to 1.024, it was expected that the chip would finally ‘give up the ghost’ due to lack of current. However the CPU ran as reliable as ever. Below are the Super -Pi scores to help give a general feeling of speed.

SUPER PI 1M	Super Pi 8M

SUPER PI 32M

As shown the CPU does not suffer with the lack of voltage, truly the i7-920 is an a amazing chip. In addition the DFI LP DK X58 T33H6 supports this CPU well.

1.008Volts

As shown previously lowering the voltage does not effect the CPU in anyway, so as a last try it was decided to decrease the voltage still further to a ‘risky’ 1.008volts. Once again the processor operated well and within its design specifications. One must also be aware that this is the previous core I7 incarnation the ‘C0′ stepping, rather than the more modern D0 version.

Super-Pi Scores

SUPER PI 1M	SUPER PI 8M

SUPER PI 32M

The differnces in speed, I.E the Super Pi scores are only a very small amount and can be attributed to many other factors rather than the CPU voltage. Below are the BIOS settings that were used.

Genie BIOS Settings 2.66Gigahertz

CPU Features Sub Menu
Set VR Current Limit Max………………..Disabled
Thermal Management Control………….Disabled
EIST Function………………………………Disabled
CxE Function……………………………….Disabled
Execute Disable Bit……………………….Disabled
Virtualisation Technology……………….Disabled
***** Logical Processor Setting *****
Intel HT Technology………………………Enabled
Active Processor Cores…………………..All

DRAM Timing Sub Menu
Memory Control Setting………………….Auto
Memory LowGap…………………………..1563M
DRAM Command Rate…………………….2N
CAS Latency Time (tCL)………………….9
RAS# to CAS# Delay (tRP)………………9
RAS# Precharge (tRP)……………………9
Precharge Delay (tRAS)………………….24
REF to ACT Delay (tRFC)…………………Auto
Write to Pre Delay (tWR)………………..Auto
Rank Write to Read (tWTR)…………….Auto
ACT to ACT Delay (tRRD)……………….Auto
Row Cycle Time (tRC)……………………Auto
Read CAS# Precharge (tRTP)………….Auto
Four ACT WIN Time (tFAW)……………Auto

Voltage Setting Sub Menu
O.C. Shut Down Free…………………….Enabled
CPU VID Control…………………………..1.0125
Power Saving………………………………STD
Super VID…………………………………..OFF
Vcore Auto PSI…………………………….Disabled
OCP………………………………………….140A
DRAM Bus Voltage………………………..1.65V
DRAM PWM Switch Frequency…………Nominal Frequency
DRAM PWM Phase Control……………..2 Phase Operation
CPU VTT Special Add……………………Auto
CPU VTT Voltage…………………………Auto
VTT PWM Switch Frequency…………..Nominal Frequency
VTT PWM Phase Control………………..2 Phase Operation
CPU PLL Voltage…………………………..1.80v
IOH/ICH 1.1v Voltage…………………….1.11v
IOH Analog Voltage……………………….1.10v
ICH 1.5 Voltage……………………………1.5v
ICH 1.05v Voltage…………………………1.05v
DIMM 1/2 DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 3/4 DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 5/6 DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 1/2 ADDR/CMD Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 3/4 ADDR/CMD Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 5/6 ADDR/CMD Bus VREF………..0%
CPU Core DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF………..0%
CPU QPI Drive Strength………………….Normal
IOH QPI Drive Strength………………….Normal

Genie Main Menu (Cont)
Exit Setup Shut Down…………………..Mode2
O.C. Fail Retry Counter…………………Enabled
O.C. Fail CMOS Reloaded………………Disabled
PPM Function……………………………..Enabled
Turbo Mode Function……………………Enabled

x 1 Core Max Turbo Ratio………………22x
x 2 Core Max Turbo Ratio………………21x
x 3Core Max Turbo Ratio……………….21x
x 4 Core Max Turbo Ratio………………21x

CPU Non-Turbo Clock Ratio……………20x

*BCLK/UCLR/QPI Controller Settings*

QPI Control Settings……………………Enabled
QPI Link Fast Mode……………………..Enabled
QPI Frequency GT/sec…………………Auto
CPU Base Clock (BCLK)……………….133
Boot Up CPU Base Clock………………Auto
PCIE Clock……………………………….100MHz
DRAM Frequency……………………….BLCK*10 1330MHZ
Uncore Frequency……………………..BLCK*22 2926MHZ

CPU Spread Spectrum………………..Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum……………….Disabled

Everest RAM testing

For the rest of the default speed testing it was decided to raise the volts back to 1.28. All will be come clear further into this section. Everest tests the ram and how it works in relation to the motherboard/CPU and compares that score amongst other machines of a similar specification.

MEMORY READ	MEMORY WRITE

MEMORY COPY	MEMORY LATENCY

EVEREST CACHEMEM

PWM Heatsink Testing

In an ordinary review this would not have been tested, however  gilgameshreviews likes to go that little bit further than most. During PRIME 95 stress testing the PWM sink was getting rather hot, now logic would say that is just the heatsink doing it’s job and well.  However this does need to be investigated to ascertain why the PWM’s are getting so hot.

As previously mentioned the CPU and the MCH are water cooled leaving little or no air flow around the PWM heatsink. This surprising since DFI have obviously appealed to those whom like to water cool by the very nature of the Northbridge design. However even with little or no airflow the PWM’s should not get too hot as the heatsink should still be able to do its job. Below is a before and after screenshot using DFI’s very own Smart Guardian software. Testing was undergone by using 1 volts on the CPU and then the standard 1.28 Volts. Note that the CPU temperature has been obscured due to the PROTOTYPE Thermochill PA 140.3 radiator being used.

1.008 VOLTS

IDLE	FULL LOAD

1.28 VOLTS Standard

IDLE	FULL LOAD

When Air-Flow is Generated

IDLE	FULL LOAD

So in essence the heat issue can be A:) Lack of air flow, but then this shows lack of foresight by DFI to allow this to severely impair the PWM efficiency. DFI have obviously designed this for air cooling only, with water cooling as an after-thought. Any hardcore over clocker (the market that DFI appeals to) would be on at least a water-cooling solution. The other point B:) is that there could be a problem with the PWM heatsink itself! Possibly due to not been able to make full contact with the chips. This issue does need to be investigated; however time constraints will not allow this at this moment in time.

The more eagle-eyed person reading this would notice that at stock speeds (both on low and stock voltage) that this board does not have a VDROOP, more of a V-increase, which could be said that it is a good thing. Well done to DFI for keeping the VDROOP issue under control.

However the high PWM temperature, has a slight impact on the Northbridge (as shown) and then in turn the CPU. DFI really need to address this situation. If a water cooling solution is used then air flow must be maintained. The PWM ‘s reach 60 degrees at stock on full load, then it is possible that a full overclock the chips could reach 90 to 100c

A suggestion to help this would be to install clips for a 40 or 60mm fan onto the PWM’s to create airflow during these scenarios.

3DMARK06

The old, but tried and tested 3Dmark 06 stress testing program was used. This is a good way to gauge the impact a CPU overclock would have upon the final score. Ther progam was ran with all video card settings set to ‘performance mode’ and in addition all the default settings within 3DMARK06 was used.

SETTINGS/SPLASH	RESULT

DFI LP DK X58 T3eH6 Overclocking

3.4 Gigahertz

Once the initial shock of getting used to overclocking the Core I7 as apposed to the old style socket 775 and below, it was surprising on how easy it was to overclock! This is a wonder considering that this is a DFI board and their boards are usually very advanced in the BIOS options department. In truth this reviewer does not have very high hopes in obtaining the magic 4gighertz due to the 1333mhz RAM speed used. but let us soldier on as they say.

Initially this turned out to be quite the over clocking board. There were many preset options available in the BIOS section. The section in particular was the CMOS reloaded which allowed an almost instant overclock.  However the purists would like to try to be creative on their own.

Starting off with a simple overclock of 3.4gigahertz (171 base clock) this was easy and was obtained within a few seconds.

Each overclock result has been checked for stability. A complete hour of 100% CPU load was used in order to full stress the system for any instability. DFI’s standard CPU, PWM, Northbridge and Fan monitoring tool, called Smart guardian (as mentioned above) was used to monitor the PWM heatsink temperature. Judging by the data obtained at Default clocks then overclocking the CPU will incur much higher temperature results due to either lack of air flow, or an inadequate heatsink. On all over clocks a fan was placed above the PWM sink in order to overclock as high as this board will allow.

To make matters worse it was during this time that 2×1 gigabyte GEIL 1333MHZ modules failed, Tut Tut GEIL!

3.4GHZ IDLE	3.4 GHZ FULL LOAD

EVEREST RESULTS

CPU QUEEN	CPU PHOTOWORXX	FPU JULIA	FPU MANDEL

CACHEME RESULTS

BIOS SETTINGS

At gilgameshreviews the BIOS settings for each and every overclock or attempted overclock are openly displayed. Many sites do not do this, hower this site believes in openly sharing the needed settings in order for any user with the correct equipment to attempt an overclock. Gilgameshreviews also does this as it is a solid-base for anyone to work from and even improve on the initial settings used.

Genie BIOS Settings 3.404Gigahertz

CPU Features Sub Menu
Set VR Current Limit Max………………..Disabled
Thermal Management Control………….Disabled
EIST Function………………………………Disabled
CxE Function……………………………….Disabled
Execute Disable Bit……………………….Disabled
Virtualisation Technology……………….Disabled
***** Logical Processor Setting *****
Intel HT Technology………………………Enabled
Active Processor Cores…………………..All

DRAM Timing Sub Menu
Memory Control Setting………………….Auto
Memory LowGap…………………………..1563M
DRAM Command Rate…………………….2N
CAS Latency Time (tCL)………………….9
RAS# to CAS# Delay (tRP)………………9
RAS# Precharge (tRP)……………………9
Precharge Delay (tRAS)………………….24
REF to ACT Delay (tRFC)………………..Auto
Write to Pre Delay (tWR)………………..Auto
Rank Write to Read (tWTR)…………….Auto
ACT to ACT Delay (tRRD)……………….Auto
Row Cycle Time (tRC)……………………Auto
Read CAS# Precharge (tRTP)………….Auto
Four ACT WIN Time (tFAW)……………Auto

Voltage Setting Sub Menu
O.C. Shut Down Free…………………….Enabled
CPU VID Control…………………………..1.350v
Power Saving………………………………STD
Super VID…………………………………..OFF
Vcore Auto PSI…………………………….Disabled
OCP………………………………………….140A
DRAM Bus Voltage………………………..1.565v
DRAM PWM Switch Frequency…………Nominal Frequency
DRAM PWM Phase Control……………..2 Phase Operation
CPU VTT Special Add……………………Auto
CPU VTT Voltage…………………………1.31v
VTT PWM Switch Frequency…………..Nominal Frequency
VTT PWM Phase Control………………..2 Phase Operation
CPU PLL Voltage…………………………..1.80v
IOH/ICH 1.1v Voltage…………………….1.11v
IOH Analog Voltage……………………….1.10v
ICH 1.5 Voltage……………………………1.5v
ICH 1.05v Voltage…………………………1.05v
DIMM 1/2 DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 3/4 DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 5/6 DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 1/2 ADDR/CMD Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 3/4 ADDR/CMD Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 5/6 ADDR/CMD Bus VREF………..0%
CPU Core DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF………..0%
CPU QPI Drive Strength………………….Normal
IOH QPI Drive Strength………………….Normal

Genie Main Menu (Cont)
Exit Setup Shut Down…………………..Mode2
O.C. Fail Retry Counter…………………Enabled
O.C. Fail CMOS Reloaded………………Disabled
PPM Function……………………………..Enabled
Turbo Mode Function……………………Disabled
x 1 Core Max Turbo Ratio………………22x
x 2 Core Max Turbo Ratio………………21x
x 3Core Max Turbo Ratio……………….21x
x 4 Core Max Turbo Ratio………………21x

CPU Non-Turbo Clock Ratio……………20x

*BCLK/UCLR/QPI Controller Settings*

QPI Control Settings……………………Enabled
QPI Link Fast Mode……………………..Enabled
QPI Frequency GT/sec…………………Auto
CPU Base Clock (BCLK)……………….171
Boot Up CPU Base Clock………………Auto
PCIE Clock……………………………….100MHz
DRAM Frequency……………………….x08
Uncore Frequency……………………..x16

CPU Spread Spectrum………………..Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum……………….Disabled

As previously explained, obtaining this speed was simplicity in itself and very little changes needed to be done in order to acheive a stable overclock. The Ram frequency was underclocked slightly due to teh BLK timings.

Super Pi

All relevant Super Pi tests were undertaken with increased results from stock (of course) what is useful to note is that Super Pi is a SINGLE CORE application ONLY, this means by runninhg on multiple cores can actually cause a slightly slower result. The way to change this is CTRL-ALT-DEL into task manager and select SUPER Pi under processes. Then it is a matter of moments to set the affinity for the application and set it to one core only.  However on this occasion this was not done in order to give a ‘true reading’ as it could be said that would be cheating and exaggerating the board’s speed.

SUPER PI 1M	SUPER PI 8M	SUPER PI 32M

3D-Mark 06

3dMark from Futuremark (the old Madonion team) has long since been a synthetic benchmark that pushes your video card to its limits. However it was not until this release that there were any real CPU tests carried out. So now that the CPU has been overclocked, it would be prudent to examine what impact the extra clock would have upon the final score.

SPLASH	FINAL RESULT

Clearly shown is the final score and indeed the initial suspicions are correct. There is indeed a marked increase in the final score. How this translates into gaming frame-rates is another matter.  Even if this does equate to gaming then it would only be for titles where the CPU is of more importance than the videocard, such as the ‘Supreme Commander’ series.

3.9 Gigahertz

Clocking to 3.9 gigahertz (197 base clock) was once again easy. What is noticeable is that there was no futher increase from CPU VID however there was a little more used for CPU VTT. This asks the question would the 3.4 gigahertz Overclock work on LESS voltage? Perhaps so, this would have to be examined in more detail in the future. However the Overclocking used here  is on a par with many other high-end  motherboards.

IDLE	PRIME 95 FULL LOAD

Everest Results

CPU QUEEN	CPU PHOTOWORXX	FPU JULIA	FPU MANDEL

3.9 GHZ CACHEMEM

BIOS Settings

BIOS settings again were virtually the same with even the CPU VID being at the same level as on 3.4 gigahertz. CPU VTT was changed and BLCK settings. Other than this the settings  were not changed. It is noted that once again the RAM was UNDERCLOCKED at this speed

Genie BIOS Settings 3.94 Gigahertz

CPU Features Sub Menu
Set VR Current Limit Max………………..Disabled
Thermal Management Control………….Disabled
EIST Function………………………………Disabled
CxE Function……………………………….Disabled
Execute Disable Bit……………………….Disabled
Virtualisation Technology……………….Disabled
***** Logical Processor Setting *****
Intel HT Technology………………………Enabled
Active Processor Cores…………………..All

DRAM Timing Sub Menu
Memory Control Setting………………….Auto
Memory LowGap…………………………..1563M
DRAM Command Rate…………………….2N
CAS Latency Time (tCL)………………….9
RAS# to CAS# Delay (tRP)………………9
RAS# Precharge (tRP)……………………9
Precharge Delay (tRAS)………………….24
REF to ACT Delay (tRFC)………………..75
Write to Pre Delay (tWR)………………..Auto
Rank Write to Read (tWTR)…………….Auto
ACT to ACT Delay (tRRD)……………….Auto
Row Cycle Time (tRC)……………………Auto
Read CAS# Precharge (tRTP)………….Auto
Four ACT WIN Time (tFAW)……………Auto

Voltage Setting Sub Menu
O.C. Shut Down Free…………………….Enabled
CPU VID Control…………………………..1.350v
Power Saving………………………………STD
Super VID…………………………………..OFF
Vcore Auto PSI…………………………….Disabled
OCP………………………………………….140A
DRAM Bus Voltage………………………..1.565v
DRAM PWM Switch Frequency…………Nominal Frequency
DRAM PWM Phase Control……………..2 Phase Operation
CPU VTT Special Add……………………Auto
CPU VTT Voltage…………………………1.375v
VTT PWM Switch Frequency…………..Nominal Frequency
VTT PWM Phase Control………………..2 Phase Operation
CPU PLL Voltage…………………………..1.80v
IOH/ICH 1.1v Voltage…………………….1.11v
IOH Analog Voltage……………………….1.10v
ICH 1.5 Voltage……………………………1.5v
ICH 1.05v Voltage…………………………1.05v
DIMM 1/2 DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 3/4 DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 5/6 DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 1/2 ADDR/CMD Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 3/4 ADDR/CMD Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 5/6 ADDR/CMD Bus VREF………..0%
CPU Core DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF………..0%
CPU QPI Drive Strength………………….Normal
IOH QPI Drive Strength………………….Normal

Genie Main Menu (Cont)
Exit Setup Shut Down…………………..Mode2
O.C. Fail Retry Counter…………………Enabled
O.C. Fail CMOS Reloaded………………Disabled
PPM Function……………………………..Enabled
Turbo Mode Function……………………Disabled
x 1 Core Max Turbo Ratio………………22x
x 2 Core Max Turbo Ratio………………21x
x 3Core Max Turbo Ratio……………….21x
x 4 Core Max Turbo Ratio………………21x

CPU Non-Turbo Clock Ratio……………20x

*BCLK/UCLR/QPI Controller Settings*

QPI Control Settings……………………Enabled
QPI Link Fast Mode……………………..Enabled
QPI Frequency GT/sec…………………Auto
CPU Base Clock (BCLK)……………….197
Boot Up CPU Base Clock………………Auto
PCIE Clock……………………………….100MHz
DRAM Frequency……………………….x06
Uncore Frequency……………………..x12

CPU Spread Spectrum………………..Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum……………….Disabled

Super Pi

SUPER PI 1M	SUPER PI 8M	SUPER PI 32M

3DMark 06

3DMARK SPLASH	3DMARK RESULT

4 Gigahertz

This speed took a long time to acheive and this reviewer was on the verge of despair. However after a break the logical mind starting working and the CPU VID  was increased to a massive 1.4375 volts and CPU VTT to 1.44. Ofcourse for this speed only this is a massive waste. However it was only a  test to see if the motherboard is physically capable of reaching this speed. Eventually the voltage required was reduced from the staggering 1.43 volts to a reasonable 1.385

IDLE	PRIME 95 FULL LOAD

EVEREST RESULTS

CPU QUEEN	CPU PHOTOWORXX	FPU JULIA	FPU MANDEL

CACHEMEM RESULTS

BIOS Settings

It is strange that only a slight change on the CPU base clock, from 197 to 200 requires a massive jump from a low 1.35 to 1.38. However, it is possible that this batch CPU many not have been very good and it could also explain with the massive amounts of CPU VTT needed to create a stable overclock. To fully test this problem then the motherboard needs to be tested with a DO stepping CPU to assertain if the problem lies with the board or the CPU. At this moment in time im leaning that its the CPU batch.

Genie BIOS Settings 4 Gigahertz

CPU Features Sub Menu
Set VR Current Limit Max………………..Disabled
Thermal Management Control………….Disabled
EIST Function………………………………Disabled
CxE Function……………………………….Disabled
Execute Disable Bit……………………….Disabled
Virtualisation Technology……………….Disabled
***** Logical Processor Setting *****
Intel HT Technology………………………Enabled
Active Processor Cores…………………..All

DRAM Timing Sub Menu
Memory Control Setting………………….Auto
Memory LowGap…………………………..1563M
DRAM Command Rate…………………….2N
CAS Latency Time (tCL)………………….9
RAS# to CAS# Delay (tRP)………………9
RAS# Precharge (tRP)……………………9
Precharge Delay (tRAS)………………….24
REF to ACT Delay (tRFC)………………..75
Write to Pre Delay (tWR)………………..Auto
Rank Write to Read (tWTR)…………….Auto
ACT to ACT Delay (tRRD)……………….Auto
Row Cycle Time (tRC)……………………Auto
Read CAS# Precharge (tRTP)………….Auto
Four ACT WIN Time (tFAW)……………Auto

Voltage Setting Sub Menu
O.C. Shut Down Free…………………….Enabled
CPU VID Control…………………………..1.3875v
Power Saving………………………………STD
Super VID…………………………………..OFF
Vcore Auto PSI…………………………….Disabled
OCP………………………………………….140A
DRAM Bus Voltage………………………..1.565v
DRAM PWM Switch Frequency…………Nominal Frequency
DRAM PWM Phase Control……………..2 Phase Operation
CPU VTT Special Add……………………Auto
CPU VTT Voltage…………………………1.44
VTT PWM Switch Frequency…………..Nominal Frequency
VTT PWM Phase Control………………..2 Phase Operation
CPU PLL Voltage…………………………..1.80v
IOH/ICH 1.1v Voltage…………………….1.11v
IOH Analog Voltage……………………….1.25v
ICH 1.5 Voltage……………………………1.5v
ICH 1.05v Voltage…………………………1.05v
DIMM 1/2 DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 3/4 DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 5/6 DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 1/2 ADDR/CMD Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 3/4 ADDR/CMD Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 5/6 ADDR/CMD Bus VREF………..0%
CPU Core DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF………..0%
CPU QPI Drive Strength………………….Normal
IOH QPI Drive Strength………………….Normal

Genie Main Menu (Cont)
Exit Setup Shut Down…………………..Mode2
O.C. Fail Retry Counter…………………Enabled
O.C. Fail CMOS Reloaded………………Disabled
PPM Function……………………………..Enabled
Turbo Mode Function……………………Disabled
x 1 Core Max Turbo Ratio………………22x
x 2 Core Max Turbo Ratio………………21x
x 3Core Max Turbo Ratio……………….21x
x 4 Core Max Turbo Ratio………………21x

CPU Non-Turbo Clock Ratio……………20x

*BCLK/UCLR/QPI Controller Settings*

QPI Control Settings……………………Enabled
QPI Link Fast Mode……………………..Enabled
QPI Frequency GT/sec…………………Auto
CPU Base Clock (BCLK)……………….200
Boot Up CPU Base Clock………………Auto
PCIE Clock……………………………….100MHz
DRAM Frequency……………………….x06
Uncore Frequency……………………..x12

CPU Spread Spectrum………………..Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum……………….Disabled

SUPER PI

PI 1M	PI 8M	PI 32M

3D-Mark 06

4GHZ SPLASH	RESULT

4.14 Gigahertz

At this speed the law’ of diminishing returns was applied in full force here. It was found for just a slight increase from 200 to 208 meant that a huge amount of voltage was needed to even boot up into windows.

Genie BIOS Settings 4.14 Gigahertz

CPU Features Sub Menu
Set VR Current Limit Max………………..Disabled
Thermal Management Control………….Disabled
EIST Function………………………………Disabled
CxE Function……………………………….Disabled
Execute Disable Bit……………………….Disabled
Virtualisation Technology……………….Disabled
***** Logical Processor Setting *****
Intel HT Technology………………………Enabled
Active Processor Cores…………………..All

DRAM Timing Sub Menu
Memory Control Setting………………….Auto
Memory LowGap…………………………..1563M
DRAM Command Rate…………………….2N
CAS Latency Time (tCL)………………….9
RAS# to CAS# Delay (tRP)………………9
RAS# Precharge (tRP)……………………9
Precharge Delay (tRAS)………………….24
REF to ACT Delay (tRFC)………………..75
Write to Pre Delay (tWR)………………..Auto
Rank Write to Read (tWTR)…………….Auto
ACT to ACT Delay (tRRD)……………….Auto
Row Cycle Time (tRC)……………………Auto
Read CAS# Precharge (tRTP)………….Auto
Four ACT WIN Time (tFAW)……………Auto

Voltage Setting Sub Menu
O.C. Shut Down Free…………………….Enabled
CPU VID Control…………………………..1.43v
Power Saving………………………………STD
Super VID…………………………………..OFF
Vcore Auto PSI…………………………….Disabled
OCP………………………………………….140A
DRAM Bus Voltage………………………..1.565v
DRAM PWM Switch Frequency…………Nominal Frequency
DRAM PWM Phase Control……………..2 Phase Operation
CPU VTT Special Add……………………Auto
CPU VTT Voltage…………………………1.44v
VTT PWM Switch Frequency…………..Nominal Frequency
VTT PWM Phase Control………………..2 Phase Operation
CPU PLL Voltage…………………………..1.85v
IOH/ICH 1.1v Voltage…………………….1.11v
IOH Analog Voltage……………………….1.25v
ICH 1.5 Voltage……………………………1.5v
ICH 1.05v Voltage…………………………1.05v
DIMM 1/2 DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 3/4 DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 5/6 DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 1/2 ADDR/CMD Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 3/4 ADDR/CMD Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 5/6 ADDR/CMD Bus VREF………..0%
CPU Core DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF………..0%
CPU QPI Drive Strength………………….Normal
IOH QPI Drive Strength………………….Normal

Genie Main Menu (Cont)
Exit Setup Shut Down…………………..Mode2
O.C. Fail Retry Counter…………………Enabled
O.C. Fail CMOS Reloaded………………Disabled
PPM Function……………………………..Enabled
Turbo Mode Function……………………Disabled
x 1 Core Max Turbo Ratio………………22x
x 2 Core Max Turbo Ratio………………21x
x 3Core Max Turbo Ratio……………….21x
x 4 Core Max Turbo Ratio………………21x

CPU Non-Turbo Clock Ratio……………20x

*BCLK/UCLR/QPI Controller Settings*

QPI Control Settings……………………Enabled
QPI Link Fast Mode……………………..Enabled
QPI Frequency GT/sec…………………Auto
CPU Base Clock (BCLK)……………….208
Boot Up CPU Base Clock………………Auto
PCIE Clock……………………………….100MHz
DRAM Frequency……………………….x06
Uncore Frequency……………………..x12

CPU Spread Spectrum………………..Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum……………….Disabled

CONCLUSION

Once again the overall design of the DFI X58 DK board is ‘on the money’ The board has great overclocking potential, given the fact that the processor used was not the best of batches available.  The cooling system is of good quality (on a passive range) however the problems with the PWM sink do leap to mind. DFI have thought of the water cooling people by implementing the solution they have. However it is a job left half done by the use of a dismal PWM heatsink. To be fair this can be rectified by the use of a fan near the PWM block.

The DFI LPDK X58 T3Eh6 is on the whole a well laid out motherboard. Where there are any weaknesses in the design, there are fan headers to cover these areas. This applies for the most part, however the PWM heatsink heat problem is an issue and further testing needs to be carried out. The Northbridge heatsink idea is sheer genius but it has been somewhat spoilt by the over application of thermal paste.

The mounting holes for the aforementioned heatsink are now diagonal instead of horizontal. In other words those whom had their PWM water blocks installed would have to change them. This is a major inconvenience as before the same Northbridge and PWM block fits on ALL DK series right from the P35 DK to the P45 to X48. To make matters worse there is no PWM block out there for DFI with the diagonal holes. Checking with all major suppliers and manufacturers also proved fruitless.

In addition the space issue have having the last PCI slot covered by the use of a second graphics card is also a problem, however this once gain has been partially rectified with the use of a fan header.

It was expected that the board would overclock to at least 4.2-4.3 given the fact that the CPU and Northbridge was liquid cooled, however that is no guarantee if the CPU happens to be a bad batch.

Last and certainly not least is the removable BIOS chip! The implimentation of this feature is also good. With the doors of the caddy holding the chip opening up like the doors of a ‘Thunderbirds’ cartoon, the chip itself raised on a pedestal, is good work indeed.

In short the DFI LP DK X58 T3Eh6 is a work of beauty marred only by one or two scars.

Cheapest source for this board in the United Kingdom (specialtech) Specialtech offer FREE DELIVERY on all DFI boards for members of this site.

Gilgamesh Award 8/10 G’s

Discuss this review in our forums!

Introduction

DFI (Diamond Flower International) has long been at the forefront of enthusiast Motherboards. With the advent of the X58 chipset, DFI wasted little time in bringing their UT, DK, and JR offerrings to market. Today, the JR mATX version of DFI’s X58 offerrings will be examined and reviewed. Can a mATX Motherboard really be considered an enthusiast product? How many features can be packed in to this small form factor? These questions and more will be answered during this review!

Pricing

At the time of this review, pricing on the JR X58 T3H6 in the USA was roughly $229.00, for our UK readers the average price seems to be roughly £205 incl. vat.

Packaging

The front of the box is colored with a blue and yellow theme and proudly displays the LanPaty JR logo with a slogan of “Looks Small, Frag More”, an obvious reference to gaming performance. Also of note is a sticker on the board that proclaims the end of the infamous Intel power off when overclock settings are changed. This is great news for long time Intel enthusiasts, as the power down issue was an annoyance to most. The back of the box lists the various features of the motherboard.

Opening the box reveals another plain white box which displays the LanParty Logo, and inside are all the provided accessories. The following items are included in the packaging:

• Motherboard Manual
• Auto Boost System Manual
• Driver and Utility CD
• UV Green Floppy and IDE Rounded Cables
• UV Green SATA Cables X2
• SATA Power Adapter
• I/O Shield
• SLI and Crossfire Bridges
• Spare Jumpers
• Case Wiring Quick Connect Blocks X2

Specifications

A Closer Look and Under the Hood

Pulling the Motherboard from the box reveals the item neatly wrapped in a static free bag. Here are a couple of pictures of the wrapped board and an expanded view out of the bag.

The next set of images provide a closeup look at all the different areas of the Motherboard. As you can see by the pictures, things are pretty tightly spaced. This is totally expected with a mATX form factor Motherboard having as many features as its full ATX counterparts. Given the limited space available, DFI has done an excellent job with the layout of the Motherboard. Only a couple of issues were noticed with the layout. First was the memory retention clips closest to the video card, they can not be relieved while the video card is installed. This problem is present even on some full ATX offerings by DFI. This is nothing new and is obviously an issue related to the minimul amount of space available on both form factors. This is not a major issue and has become more common with the advent of large video cards. Second was the lack of a fan mounting option over the PWM heatsink. If you use air cooling which is large enough to overhang the PWM area, or a cooler that has a side mount fan, this might not be an issue as you can direct a good amount of air flow over the PWM area. Because the test system will be using air cooling, the presence of air flow over the PWM, and its effectiveness will be monitored.  The problem arises for the watercooling crowd and the lack of air flow over the area, which may result in overheating of the PWM. Again, this problem is not unique to DFI, active PWM air cooling solutions are rarely found. Perhaps a wire clip option to mount one or two small 40mm fans over the PWM heatsink would be something worth exploring.

Lets touch on some of the highlights of the Motherboard. There is a clear CMOS Jumper on the back I/O area, an onboard power and reset switch (which by pressing simultaniously will clear CMOS), and a post code LED display. Brwosing the images below will give you a good look at the rear I/O area, PCI and PCIe area, Northbridge and Southbridge areas, DIMM slot area, CPU area, and finally the back of the motherboard.

Next is a look under the hood so to speak, which entails removal of the Northbridge/PWM heatsink assembly. DFI has implemented the “Bolt Down” method to attach this assembly. By doing this, DFI has ensured maximum contact between the heatsinks and chips, which greatly improves the cooling effeciency and performance. Under the PWM section of the heatsink assembly is a thermal pad, which was inspected for proper contact with the PWM chips.  It appears the PWM heatsink does not make very good contact with the upper set of PWM chips as witnessed by the picture below.  Under the Northbridge section of the heatsink is thermal paste. Upon removal of the heatsink assembly a large amount of thermal paste was applied to the Northbridge, perhaps too much? (see pictures below).  The Southbridge heatsink was not removed, but it was noticed during normal operation that the heatsink got rather warm.  There is, however, a fan header next too the Southbridge and the heatsink is designed in such a manner that a 40mm fan is easily installed.

The BIOS

As is the case with most enthusiast Motherboard offerings from DFI, this BIOS is fully loaded with overclocking options as well as the standard items. Even though this is DFI’s entry level X58 chipset Motherboard, they did not hold back on available BIOS tweaking options. The Motherboard features an Award BIOS and arrived with the latest BIOS version available at the time of this review, BIOS Date 02-17-2009. The first set of pictures below show the areas of BIOS that are common to most Motherboards now days, such as the Standard CMOS Features, Advanced BIOS Features, Power Management, PC Health Status, etc.

Another nice feature of the BIOS is the “CMOS Reloaded” section. In this section you can save up to four different profiles. As you begin to overclock the board and find settings that work well, you can simply save them and reload them at any time. There are factory loaded overclock settings pre installed for the different i7 CPU’s, for instance the i7 920 profile is set to a 3.2ghz speed, and after loading that profile the system booted right in to Windows without issue. You can’t make overclocking much easier than that! A very handy feature and well thought out by DFI.

The “Genie” BIOS settings area is where you will find just about anything you need to overclock your system. There is a plethora of tweaking options available in this BIOS, so much so, it could be said to rival it’s big brothers, the DK and UT series. As previously stated, DFI did not cut corners on BIOS options for this entry level offering. Below are several pictures of the Genie BIOS screens, I will go in to more detail below.

Once inside the Genie Bios Setting portion of BIOS, selecting the CPU feature sub menu will present you with the Thermal Management options. Here you can choose your preferred settins for EIST and CxE functions. Next, entering the DRAM timing sub menu will allow you to set all of the timings for your memory, and there are LOTS of options! Continuing to the Voltage setting sub menu you will find a wide array of available voltage settings. Below is a list of items on which voltage manipulation can be performed, and the voltage ranges available.

Testing and Benchmarks

For the purpose of this review, all Everest benchmarks, SuperPI 1M benchmark, and a quick run of HDD Tach will be used. Testing will be done at several different CPU/Memory/Bus speeds. The test bed used consisted of the following components:

• DFI LanParty JR X58 T3H6 Motherboard
• 3x2gb G.Skill F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ Memory
• Intel i7 920 Processor 2.66 Ghz
• eVGA 7950GT PCIe X16 Video Card
• PC Power & Cooling 750 Quad Power Supply
• Thermalright HR-01 Plus (w/ socket 1366 adapter) and Panaflo 120mm 2000 Rpm Fan
• Hitachi 160 Gb SATA II HDD
• Windows Vista SP1 x64

First a run of HDD Tach is in order to ensure the Intel SATA controllers, in IDE mode, work correctly. As you can see by the graph below, everything seems to be in order here and on a par with most SATA II hard drives, no severe dips in the graph line confirms a nice smooth data flow . The test was run at both 8mb and 32mb zones.

8 Mb Zone Test	32 Mb Zone Test

Next the Intel RAID controller was tested using a pair of WD SATA 150 16mb cache 10,000 RPM Raptors in a RAID 0 configuration. As you can see by the resluts, the scores showed quite an improvement over a single drive tested in IDE mode. How these better scores relate to “Real World” performance is open for debate, especially had 7200 RPM drives been used for the RAID 0 test.

8 Mb Zone Test	32 Mb Zone Test

Next, SuperPI was run at the three different clock speeds. As you can see by the chart, of course the results get faster as the CPU speed is raised. As SuperPI scores go, the 3.66 Ghz score is quite nice! Below the chart are the screen sots of the SuperPI 1M runs.

SuperPI 1M 2.66 Ghz	SuperPI 1M 3.33 Ghz	SuperPI 1M 3.66 Ghz

Next up is the full battery of tests available on Everest 5.0. Again the tests were done at the stock 2.66 Ghz, 3.33 Ghz, and 3.66 Ghz speeds.

The first set of tests measure the different memory functions. Using the default comparison systems loaded in Everest, you can see that this Motherboard/Memory combination out performs comparible systems everywhere except in the memory latency test. The memory latency score is not unique to this motherboard however, as most X58 based systems will show similiar scores.

Memory Read Test 2.66 Ghz	Memory Read Test 3.33 Ghz	Memory Read Test 3.66 Ghz

Memory Write Test 2.66 Ghz	Memory Write test 3.33 Ghz	Memory Write Test 3.66 Ghz

Memory Copy Test 2.66 Ghz	Memory Copy Test 3.33 Ghz	Memory Copy Test 3.66 Ghz

Memory Copy Test 2.66 Ghz	Memory Copy Test 3.33 Ghz	Memory Copy Test 3.66 Ghz

Memory Latency Test 2.66 Ghz	Memory Latency Test 3.33 Ghz	Memory Latency Test 3.66 Ghz

Next is a series of four CPU tests. While these CPU test results were not as impressive as the memory tests were, they still ranked near the top in every category, and at the higher clock speeds the results naturally were even better.

CPU Queen Test 2.66 Ghz	CPU Queen Test 3.33 Ghz	CPU Queen Test 3.66 Ghz

CPU Photoworxx 2.66 Ghz	CPU Photoworxx 3.33 Ghz	CPU Photoworxx 3.66 Ghz

CPU Zlib Test 2.66 Ghz	CPU Zlib Test 3.33 Ghz	CPU Zlib Test 3.66 Ghz

CPU AES Test 2.66 Ghz	CPU AES Test 3.33 Ghz	CPU AES Test 3.66 Ghz

The final set of tests in the Everest 5.0 arsenal is the three FPU tests. The results again were quite impressive in comparison. Again, at or near the top in every category.

FPU Julia Test 2.66 Ghz	FPU Julia Test 3.33 Ghz	FPU Julia Test 3.66 Ghz

FPU Mandel Test 2.66 Ghz	FPU Mandel Test 3.33 Ghz	FPU Mandel Test 3.66 Ghz

FPU SinJulia Test 2.66 Ghz	FPU SinJulia Test 3.33 Ghz	FPU SinJulia Test 3.66 Ghz

Overclocking

Overclocking the JR X58 T3H6 was found to be rather painless.  As stated earlier in this review, the CMOS reloaded section of BIOS comes preloaded with an overclock setting at 3.2 Ghz for the i7 920. With a few simple keystrokes you can easily overclock using this preloaded setting. Using the preloaded 3.2 Ghz setting worked flawless and the system booted right in to windows and was found to be perfectly stable. If you are using an i7 940 or 965, there are preloaded settings for those CPU’s as well. These preloaded settings are a great feature for the novice overclocker, job well done by DFI here!

The first attempt to overclock past the preloaded speeds was at 3.33 Ghz. The following screen shots show a couple instances of CPUz and a run of SuperPI 8M.  Also a 30 minute run of Prime95 to test stability was performed. Everything looks good here. Below the screenshot is a list of BIOS setting used to achieve this overclocked speed.  Take note the ITE monitoring software already shows the system temp in the red zone at this overclock, and as feared the system temp is indeed the PWM temp.  The fears of an inadequate PWM heatsink seem to be coming to fruition.  Keep in mind that most Motherboard manufacturers will tell you that a PWM temp up to 100c is acceptable.  If this is true, then why does the ITE monitoring software show a red value at anything over 60c?  You can change the settings in the ITE software to force a red reading at a higher temp, but the default should be higher than 60c.

Genie BIOS Settings 3.33 Ghz

CPU Features Sub Menu
Set VR Current Limit Max………………..Disabled
Thermal Management Control………….Disabled
EIST Function………………………………Disabled
CxE Function……………………………….Disabled
Execute Disable Bit……………………….Disabled
Virtualisation Technology……………….Disabled
***** Logical Processor Setting *****
Intel HT Technology………………………Enabled
Active Processor Cores…………………..All

DRAM Timing Sub Menu
Memory Control Setting………………….Auto
Memory LowGap…………………………..1563M
DRAM Command Rate…………………….2N
CAS Latency Time (tCL)………………….9
RAS# to CAS# Delay (tRP)………………9
RAS# Precharge (tRP)……………………9
Precharge Delay (tRAS)………………….24
REF to ACT Delay (tRFC)………………..75
Write to Pre Delay (tWR)………………..Auto
Rank Write to Read (tWTR)…………….Auto
ACT to ACT Delay (tRRD)……………….Auto
Row Cycle Time (tRC)……………………Auto
Read CAS# Precharge (tRTP)………….Auto
Four ACT WIN Time (tFAW)……………Auto

Voltage Setting Sub Menu
O.C. Shut Down Free…………………….Enabled
CPU VID Control…………………………..1.350v
Power Saving………………………………STD
Super VID…………………………………..OFF
Vcore Auto PSI…………………………….Disabled
OCP………………………………………….140A
DRAM Bus Voltage………………………..1.635v
DRAM PWM Switch Frequency…………Nominal Frequency
DRAM PWM Phase Control……………..2 Phase Operation
CPU VTT Special Add……………………Auto
CPU VTT Voltage…………………………1.31v
VTT PWM Switch Frequency…………..Nominal Frequency
VTT PWM Phase Control………………..2 Phase Operation
CPU PLL Voltage…………………………..1.80v
IOH/ICH 1.1v Voltage…………………….1.11v
IOH Analog Voltage……………………….1.10v
ICH 1.5 Voltage……………………………1.5v
ICH 1.05v Voltage…………………………1.05v
DIMM 1/2 DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 3/4 DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 5/6 DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 1/2 ADDR/CMD Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 3/4 ADDR/CMD Bus VREF………..0%
DIMM 5/6 ADDR/CMD Bus VREF………..0%
CPU Core DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF………..0%
CPU QPI Drive Strength………………….Normal
IOH QPI Drive Strength………………….Normal

Genie Main Menu (Cont)
Exit Setup Shut Down…………………..Mode2
O.C. Fail Retry Counter…………………Enabled
O.C. Fail CMOS Reloaded………………Disabled
PPM Function……………………………..Enabled
Turbo Mode Function……………………Disabled
x 1 Core Max Turbo Ratio………………22x
x 2 Core Max Turbo Ratio………………21x
x 3Core Max Turbo Ratio……………….21x
x 4 Core Max Turbo Ratio………………21x

CPU Non-Turbo Clock Ratio……………20x

*BCLK/UCLR/QPI Controller Settings*

QPI Control Settings……………………Enabled
QPI Link Fast Mode……………………..Enabled
QPI Frequency GT/sec…………………Auto
CPU Base Clock (BCLK)……………….166
Boot Up CPU Base Clock………………Auto
PCIE Clock……………………………….100MHz
DRAM Frequency……………………….x08
Uncore Frequency……………………..x16

CPU Spread Spectrum………………..Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum……………….Disabled

Next we were easily able to overclock the system to 3.66 Ghz. Note that CPUz shows a 3.65 Ghz speed, but the BIOS was set to a 20X Multiplier and a 183 Bus speed.  Again a screen shot of the SuperPI run and the Prime95 run.  Once again the PWM temps were at warning level, this time to 75c.  The high PWM temps at this point do not seem to affect stability.  Also notice that the CPU temps show in the red zone at 61c. This CPU temp is well within thermal specs for this CPU.  So again, why has the ITE software been programmed to show red on a 61c CPU temp?  At this point it’s safe to say the ITE monitoring could use some recalibration, but as stated above, the point where the temp shows red can be adjusted in the ITE settings.

Genie BIOS Settings 3.66 Ghz

CPU Features Sub Menu
Set VR Current Limit Max……………….Disabled
Thermal Management Control…………Disabled
EIST Function……………………………..Disabled
CxE Function……………………………….Disabled
Execute Disable Bit……………………….Disabled
Virtualisation Technology……………….Disabled
***** Logical Processor Setting *****
Intel HT Technology……………………..Enabled
Active Processor Cores………………….All

DRAM Timing Sub Menu
Memory Control Setting…………………Auto
Memory LowGap………………………….1563M
DRAM Command Rate…………………..2N
CAS Latency Time (tCL)…………………9
RAS# to CAS# Delay (tRP)……………..9
RAS# Precharge (tRP)…………………..9
Precharge Delay (tRAS)…………………24
REF to ACT Delay (tRFC)……………….75
Write to Pre Delay (tWR)……………….Auto
Rank Write to Read (tWTR)……………Auto
ACT to ACT Delay (tRRD)………………Auto
Row Cycle Time (tRC)………………….Auto
Read CAS# Precharge (tRTP)………..Auto
Four ACT WIN Time (tFAW)………….Auto

Voltage Setting Sub Menu
O.C. Shut Down Free…………………..Enabled
CPU VID Control…………………………1.3625v
Power Saving…………………………….STD
Super VID…………………………………OFF
Vcore Auto PSI…………………………..Disabled
OCP…………………………………………140A
DRAM Bus Voltage……………………….1.635v
DRAM PWM Switch Frequency………..Nominal Frequency
DRAM PWM Phase Control…………….2 Phase Operation
CPU VTT Special Add…………………..Auto
CPU VTT Voltage………………………..1.31v
VTT PWM Switch Frequency………….Nominal Frequency
VTT PWM Phase Control……………….2 Phase Operation
CPU PLL Voltage………………………….1.80v
IOH/ICH 1.1v Voltage……………………1.11v
IOH Analog Voltage………………………1.10v
ICH 1.5 Voltage…………………………..1.5v
ICH 1.05v Voltage………………………..1.05v
DIMM 1/2 DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF……….0%
DIMM 3/4 DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF……….0%
DIMM 5/6 DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF……….0%
DIMM 1/2 ADDR/CMD Bus VREF……….0%
DIMM 3/4 ADDR/CMD Bus VREF……….0%
DIMM 5/6 ADDR/CMD Bus VREF……….0%
CPU Core DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF……….0%
CPU QPI Drive Strength…………………Normal
IOH QPI Drive Strength…………………Normal

Genie Main Menu (Cont)
Exit Setup Shut Down…………………..Mode2
O.C. Fail Retry Counter………………..Enabled
O.C. Fail CMOS Reloaded……………..Disabled
PPM Function…………………………….Enabled
Turbo Mode Function…………………..Disabled
x 1 Core Max Turbo Ratio…………….22x
x 2 Core Max Turbo Ratio…………….21x
x 3Core Max Turbo Ratio……………..21x
x 4 Core Max Turbo Ratio…………….21x

CPU Non-Turbo Clock Ratio………….20x

*BCLK/UCLR/QPI Controller Settings*

QPI Control Settings………………….Enabled
QPI Link Fast Mode……………………Enabled
QPI Frequency GT/sec……………….Auto
CPU Base Clock (BCLK)………………183
Boot Up CPU Base Clock……………..Auto
PCIE Clock……………………………..100MHz
DRAM Frequency……………………..x08
Uncore Frequency……………………x16

CPU Spread Spectrum……………….Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum………………Disabled

Finally an overclock at 4.0 Ghz was obtained, this one took a little more work.  The system booted to the desktop just fine, and ran all the benchmarks we threw at it as shown in the testing section of this review.  This overclock was unable to pass more than a few minutes of Prime95 however.  Unfortunately it appears that the CPU will need a voltage setting beyond what our air cooling can handle, so at the risk of damaging the CPU, overclocking tests were stopped here.  Do not consider this a flaw of the motherboard, but more likely a less than stellar overclocking CPU stepping.  With more time and better cooling, the chances of this setup reaching at least 4.0 Ghz stable are excellent.  Consider the BIOS settings below a good starting point, more tweaking will need to be done to achieve a Prime95 stable overclock, of course depending on your CPU’s capabilities.

Genie BIOS Settings 4.0 Ghz

CPU Features Sub Menu
Set VR Current Limit Max……………….Disabled
Thermal Management Control…………Disabled
EIST Function……………………………..Disabled
CxE Function……………………………….Disabled
Execute Disable Bit……………………….Disabled
Virtualisation Technology……………….Disabled
***** Logical Processor Setting *****
Intel HT Technology……………………..Enabled
Active Processor Cores………………….All

DRAM Timing Sub Menu
Memory Control Setting…………………Auto
Memory LowGap………………………….1563M
DRAM Command Rate…………………..2N
CAS Latency Time (tCL)…………………9
RAS# to CAS# Delay (tRP)……………..9
RAS# Precharge (tRP)…………………..9
Precharge Delay (tRAS)…………………24
REF to ACT Delay (tRFC)……………….75
Write to Pre Delay (tWR)……………….Auto
Rank Write to Read (tWTR)……………Auto
ACT to ACT Delay (tRRD)………………Auto
Row Cycle Time (tRC)………………….Auto
Read CAS# Precharge (tRTP)………..Auto
Four ACT WIN Time (tFAW)………….Auto

Voltage Setting Sub Menu
O.C. Shut Down Free…………………..Enabled
CPU VID Control…………………………1.405v
Power Saving…………………………….STD
Super VID…………………………………OFF
Vcore Auto PSI…………………………..Disabled
OCP…………………………………………140A
DRAM Bus Voltage……………………….1.635v
DRAM PWM Switch Frequency………..Nominal Frequency
DRAM PWM Phase Control…………….2 Phase Operation
CPU VTT Special Add…………………..Auto
CPU VTT Voltage………………………..1.40v
VTT PWM Switch Frequency………….Nominal Frequency
VTT PWM Phase Control……………….2 Phase Operation
CPU PLL Voltage………………………….1.80v
IOH/ICH 1.1v Voltage……………………1.11v
IOH Analog Voltage………………………1.10v
ICH 1.5 Voltage…………………………..1.5v
ICH 1.05v Voltage………………………..1.05v
DIMM 1/2 DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF……….0%
DIMM 3/4 DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF……….0%
DIMM 5/6 DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF……….0%
DIMM 1/2 ADDR/CMD Bus VREF……….0%
DIMM 3/4 ADDR/CMD Bus VREF……….0%
DIMM 5/6 ADDR/CMD Bus VREF……….0%
CPU Core DQ/DQSTB Bus VREF……….0%
CPU QPI Drive Strength…………………Normal
IOH QPI Drive Strength…………………Normal

Genie Main Menu (Cont)
Exit Setup Shut Down………………….Mode2
O.C. Fail Retry Counter………………..Enabled
O.C. Fail CMOS Reloaded……………..Disabled
PPM Function…………………………….Enabled
Turbo Mode Function…………………..Disabled
x 1 Core Max Turbo Ratio…………….22x
x 2 Core Max Turbo Ratio…………….21x
x 3Core Max Turbo Ratio……………..21x
x 4 Core Max Turbo Ratio…………….21x

CPU Non-Turbo Clock Ratio…………..19x

*BCLK/UCLR/QPI Controller Settings*

QPI Control Settings………………….Enabled
QPI Link Fast Mode……………………Enabled
QPI Frequency GT/sec……………….Auto
CPU Base Clock (BCLK)………………213
Boot Up CPU Base Clock……………..Auto
PCIE Clock……………………………..100MHz
DRAM Frequency……………………..x08
Uncore Frequency……………………x16

CPU Spread Spectrum……………….Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum………………Disabled

Overclocking this motherboard was very easy; the results speak for themselves. Any time you can get at least a 1 GHz overclock you have obtained a great bang for the CPU buck. When you can get even more, as we did on this system, its just icing on the cake. Given these results, it can be said with a reasonable amount of confidence that this motherboard can be overclocked at least as well as it’s big brother, the DK X58 Version. Please see the review on the DK X58 Series Motherboard here at Gilgames Reviews.

At this point it would be a good idea to mention the ABS software that is bundled with the Motherboard CD. This software allows you to backup/load/share BIOS profiles, all from the Windows desktop. It is a very handy utility, and best of all it works! If your interested in learnig more about DFI’s ABS software, the users manual can be downloaded HERE. You will also find the ITE hardware monitoring software on the enclosed CD. Another handy utility for monitoring voltages, fan speeds, etc.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

If you’re of the mindset that mATX motherboards can not be seriously considered as enthusiast products, it may be time to reconsider that train of thought. With the release of the LanParty JR X58 T3H6 motherboard, DFI has taken the mATX form factor to a new level of performance and overclockability. You will be hard pressed to find another mATX motherboard from any manufacturer with the options and features this Motherboard offers, espcecially at the X58 Chipset level. The only thing missing from the feature set would be onboard Firewire, but short of that, it’s fully loaded!  Most enthusiasts should be able to deal with the PWM and Southbridge heat issues with a little modification.

Below is the Pros and Cons for the LanParty JR X58 T3H6, the Cons are more of a wish list really, as it was a struggle to find much wrong with this Motherboard.

PROS	CONS
Bundled Accessories Bundled Software (ABS) Preloaded BIOS Overclock Settings Ease of Overclocking Full Featured BIOS SLI and Crossfire Support	PWM Heatsink Inadequate Northbridge Thermal Adhesive Over Applied Southbridge Gets Hot to the Point of Needing a Fan Price Rivals Full ATX Boards No Onboard Firewire ITE Monitoring Software May Need Recalibrating

Gilgamesh Reviews Score:

9/10 G’s

Discuss this review at our forums!

Introduction

DFI keeps rolling out board after board with such abandon these days. With such hits as the P45 DK series under their belt, one can only wonder how they are going to approach the UT version of this chipset.

As much of the enthusiast community is aware, the x58 series of system boards are already available on the internet. The X58/Core I7 provides a much more efficient solution compared to the core 2 range, however it comes at a heavy price to your wallet. For those who cannot afford to purchase a brand new board, RAM and CPU then just upgrading the system board might be a tempting offer. DFI is one of the many companies that have provided you with a solution to do just that. DFI produces a range of boards that appeal to a wide range of people.

• DFI UT: Hardcore Over Clocking/Performance
• DFI DK: Over Clocking/Gaming
• DFI Blood Iron: Gaming
• DFI JR: Performance Micro ATX Solutions

Diamond Flower International (DFI) has produced a great deal of motherboards, each system board displays a myriad of BIOS options, which (depending on the users view point) either overwhelms you with the amount of over clocking options or are a logical series of progressive steps which flow like a spring into a river.

In this review, (the first of a series of ‘progressive’ reviews) the DFI LP UT P45 T2RS will be explored…

So let us take a trip once again into the universe called DFI!

DFI LP UT P45 T2RS Motherboard Specifications

Box Packaging and Accessory Tray

The style of packaging differs somewhat from the DK range of boards. The former suggesting a light airy kind of mood, whilst the latter giving the idea that this is a dark brooding kind of thinking. Both however have the ability to shine with a rainbow of colours when a strong light is used such as a camera flash.

Click to Enlarge

Inside the accessory box there are the usual DFI UV sensitive cables. One could say that these leads brighten up even under direct sunlight. With this series of board they have chosen to implement an add-on sound card entitled ‘The Bernstein Sound Module’. The sound card promises to add a rather pleasant home theater like experience to the listener. However, for those who would rather use an add-on solution, (which is majority) then this would be made irrelevant.

Motherboard Layout and Thermal Design

As usual with DFI’s system boards; the first thing that catches a person’s eye is the brightly coloured PCI/E, RAM, USB and SATA sockets. These are all UV sensitive, just like the boards cables. This is to catch the attention of the case-modification guru’s out there. The first noticeable issue found was that the first PCI/E socket is a little too close to the memory slots. This issue would cause a few problems if a user wishes to utilize a third-party RAM cooling device, as the graphics card would obstruct the cooling solution for the memory sockets. However airflow from the front chassis fan should be able to cool the RAM slots.

Main Board Layout

Click To Enlarge

>

>

CPU Area-Click to Enlarge

Power ON-Reset Switches

Around the POST debug display the afore mentioned power/reset switches, as well as the floppy drive connector. These days a floppy drive is rarely used and in the coming motherboard generations it should be phased out completely, along with the IDE connector! As usual DFI have chosen to utilize eight SATA ports. Six on the INTEL ICHR-10 and two on the J-Micron controllers.

Swiftly moving to around the back of the system board, there are two gigabit LAN ports and Six USB Slots. In addition there are the obligatory IEEE1934 headers.

Thermal Array

The thermal array itself is of a very high quality and feels solid. The heatsinks are mounted via nuts and bolts, rather than just the cheap ‘plastic pressure clips’ that have been used in the past with other board manufacturers. However, it could be said that this is the top of the range UT board, ‘no wonder that they use bolts’ A counter statement to this argument would be that DFI uses the same bolt-mounting practice through-out their entire range.

Thermal Array Mounting Method

Click To Enlarge

Various Northbridge Angles

Southbridge Angles

PWM Heatsink Angles

A major flaw in the array however, is the fact that the heatsinks have connected sections. In other words if one wishes to cool the Northbridge via a water block then one would also have to change the PWM and Southbridge heatsinks at the same time. In essence this would be a major burden to some of the more extreme of cooling enthusiasts. However, this problem is not insurmountable, just a major inconvenience, considering the lesser priced P45 DK T2RSB+. The afore mention board has a removable Northbridge block, without having to replace the Southbridge and PWM sinks. DFI needs to pay close attention to the P45 UT T2RS thermal array and to not use this solution again on future boards

Under the Hood!

One of the things that www.gilgameshreviews.com likes to do is to take of the whole heatsink array in order to see how DFI have chosen to apply the thermal paste to various sections of the board.

Click to Enlarge

As clearly shown by the amount of residue paste on the boards main components, DFI have done a great job in making sure all of the surface area on the chips have thermal paste. There have been some other board manufacturers in the past where only half of the component is covered in a paste. Moving onto the type of thermal paste DFI have used and judging by past experience, DFI use Shin-Etsu compound. Which unlike most compounds it is a solid substance rather than a paste and is extremely hard to spread. Indeed the substance itself is very expensive, costing as much as £6 (eight dollars) per gram. However its performance cannot be called into question, as the links below substantiate.

Editor’s Note - Unfortunately, due to unforseen circumstances, the review for this board has been discontinued.  Please accept our most humble apologies.  This is the one and only review at this site that will be incomplete.

This range of motherboards usually sports brilliant designs and one of the most efficient layouts that money can buy. While DFI is renowned for their Lanparty boards, they have always offered a lower cost alternative since the days of the 865 chipset. This company has also released lower cost versions which went under the infinity name. These had all of the features of their bigger brother Lanparty boards without the aesthetics or the hefty price tag.

The test board today comes from this range and is known as the DFI Bloodiron P45-2RS. This motherboard is being marketed in the budge range at a similar price to the Gigabyte EP45-DS3, so this should put it in the £90 region, which is excellent for a P45 board.

Specifications

DFI BLOOD-IRON P45 T2RS